When We're Older
by warblerslushie
Summary: Kurt and Blaine have been married for several years and Blaine's been wanting to start a family, especially since they're getting older. However, with their work schedules and the fact that Kurt's just not ready for kids right now, things have been slow within the Anderson-Hummel household. But what will happen when the couple receives some unexpected news? MPREG. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this chapter is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!)**

* * *

Blaine closed his eyes, one hand steadying his swaying form against the sink counter as he listened to the sound of the egg timer ticking away behind him. He had been nauseous all morning, having heaved up his breakfast not too long after Kurt left for work. But now, after several days of mentally debating over whether or not he should go through with it, Blaine found himself waiting for a certain test to tell him if this illness he was suffering from was something more than a mere case of the flu.

::::::::::

"_What do you think about having kids?"_

_The hand on Blaine's hipbone froze. Kurt went still behind him and Blaine knew that if he turned around, the look on his boyfriend's face probably wouldn't be a pleasant one._

"_Why do you ask?" Kurt questioned, squeezing Blaine's hip before he rolled away and stood up from the bed. He barely waited for Blaine's answer before he disappeared into the en suite bathroom._

"_I was just thinking, that's all."_

"_About kids?"_

"_Yeah, I mean... it just popped into my head and I was just wondering what your thoughts are about them."_

_Kurt stepped back into the room, a warm, wet washcloth in one hand and a dry towel in the other. He climbed onto the bed on his knees and straddled Blaine's legs. "We just had sex and you're rambling about having kids."_

"_Well, maybe I want a couple someday and I was just wondering if you did too."_

_Kurt rolled his eyes and began cleaning up the mess he and Blaine had made. A thoughtful hum slipped from his throat and he smiled, casually tossing the dirty washcloth behind him. "It's just a strange after-sex topic, that's all."_

"_People talk about having children all the time; it's not like it's a controversial after-intercourse topic. I mean, they do it in the movies."_

"_Yeah, and they're almost always heterosexual couples who just had unrealistic sex in the shower and then nine months later, boom – the girl's popping out a baby. Oh, the joys of foreshadowing."_

"_So, technically I should be getting pregnant right now since we just made love and within a span of ten months, we should be having a baby... you know, based on the fact that we're now talking about having children in the future."_

_Kurt's eyes rolled again and he shook his head, "This is such a weird conversation and I'm checking out of it. No more discussion on having children."_

"_But-"_

"_Someday I'd like to have kids, Blaine. Someday in the future... when I'm a little older - and that is all I'm saying on the subject."_

_Blaine smiled brightly as Kurt gathered up the discarded washcloth and went back into the bathroom. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, flashes of cute little kids who looked like Kurt running through his mind._

::::::::::

A shrill buzzing erupted from behind him and Blaine jumped, turning on his heel to grab the egg timer from off of the lid of the toilet. He turned the knob to off and set it down, anxiety building as he slowly began to realize that the timer going off meant one thing and one thing only.

The test was done.

::::::::::

"_Remember that time Rachel thought she was pregnant?"_

"_You mean that time when she wasn't sure if she was having Brody or Finn's baby?"_

"_Yep."_

"_Yeah, I remember. Why?"_

_Kurt dropped the overflowing bag of takeout Chinese food onto the table. He took a few containers out and set them down before Blaine before he continued his discussion, "Well, she thinks she may be pregnant again."_

"_She _what_?" Blaine sputtered, choking on the sip of water he had dared to drink while Kurt was talking. Kurt reached over and patted his fiance's back, shaking his head as he did so._

"_Careful now, sweetie. I don't want you to keel over before our wedding." He waited for the color to return to Blaine's cheeks, smiling when Blaine's breathing steadied. "Now, as I was saying before you decided to almost _die_ on me, Rachel thinks she's pregnant."_

"_Does Finn know?"_

"_No, and he's not going to until Rach finds out if she's actually pregnant or if it was just a false positive like last time."_

"_Well, I think it would be cute if she was. That baby would be so spoiled."_

_Kurt smirked, "Yeah, by you and Rachel's dads and everybody else."_

"_You would spoil it too. Don't lie."_

"_Hmm, well I guess you've got me there. But... to be completely honest, I hope she's not pregnant."_

_Blaine quirked his eyebrow, the fork he was lifting to his mouth stopping in midair. "Why's that?"_

"_Because she's too young to have a baby! We're not even 21 yet, Blaine! She's got so much left to do and she's got all these plans. Like, I couldn't even imagine changing my life to accommodate bringing another one into the world! I'm too selfish right now to have a child and in my opinion, Rachel is too."_

"_I think she'd make a wonderful mother."_

"_Do you really?" Kurt asked, his face wrought with disbelief. "I think you're lying to me."_

"_No, I'm not. Like, yeah, Rachel is a little bit self-centered sometimes-" He ignored Kurt's snort, "-and sure, she's a bit of a ticking time-bomb when it comes to her goals in life and achieving them, but people can change. She'd be a great mom and I look forward to the day when I see her on _Dance Mom_s or _Toddlers and Tiaras_, except it'd be a Broadway version called _Stage Moms_ or something like that."_

_Kurt laughed out loud and Blaine chuckled too when he saw his fiance giggling behind his hand. Of course, the rest of their conversation that night centered around Rachel's potential pregnancy crisis and their own future (complete with talk about their own future children) and, weeks later, when Rachel called them up to tell them that, once again, she had had another scare, Blaine couldn't help but feel a little bit let down that there wasn't going to be a baby around for him to spoil._

::::::::::

That damn test was mocking him.

Well, actually there were several tests – _just in case_, Blaine had told himself when he gathered up a large supply of them at the drug store the day before; he had purchased a handful of different tests because he had read online that some brands gave false positives and he really, really wanted to know what was wrong with him _now,_ so there he was, staring down at the line of pregnancy tests, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest as he stared.

"Oh my God-"

::::::::::

_"Happy anniversary, honey!"_

_Blaine smiled when he felt Kurt's lips press against his cheek. He leaned into his husband's arms and sighed happily when Kurt pulled him into a tight embrace and began trailing hot kisses down his neck._

_"Kurt! I'm making dinner!"_

_Kurt pulled away from his neck and scoffed playfully, "It's our very first wedding anniversary and you want to stay in and cook? I thought we were going out to eat?"_

_"No, silly. I wanted us to eat dinner here and then we could- umm-" He dropped his voice lower, batting his eyelashes flirtatiously, "-we could take advantage of the evening and the fact that we've both got the rest of the night, as well as tomorrow, off."_

_"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Kurt asked, smirking devilishly as he stepped back a bit to look deep into Blaine's eyes._

_"Why Mr. Anderson-Hummel! What a scandalous look you're giving me right now!" Blaine teased, batting his husband away as he went to stir the pot of boiling pasta. He giggled when Kurt latched back onto him and began peppering his neck with kisses again, unable to stop the moan that slipped out when Kurt began mouthing against his collarbone, "Kurt, baby, please. I want to get dinner done and then we can do this all night."_

_Kurt huffed and released his hold, turning towards the fridge to open the door and peer inside, "I've got to say that I'm a little bit disappointed that you're more interested in having food instead of me, but I'm pretty hungry myself, so I won't complain too much."_

_"I'm glad you understand," Blaine laughed, pouring the now-finished pasta into the strainer. Kurt went to take the heated sauce off of the burner and the two of them went into the dining room, setting down their pots before they began serving themselves. Several minutes later, they were eating and quietly talking to each other about their days at work and school, respectively. Kurt was about to gobble down another piece of garlic bread when he realized that Blaine was staring at him._

_"You okay, honey? You're looking like you want to eat me instead of your spaghetti - not that I'm complaining or anything."_

_Blaine shook his head and dropped his fork back onto his plate, "I plan on ravishing you once I'm finished, but I was just thinking, that's all. No need to worry."_

_"Penny for your thoughts?"_

_"Umm... well, do you remember that night years ago when we talked about our future?"_

_"We're always talking about our future, Blaine. Last night you said you wanted to add a waterfall shower head in the master bathroom."_

_"Yeah, but this is different."_

_Kurt raised an eyebrow, still steadily chewing his piece of bread. "How so?"_

_"Well, we've been married for a year now... and I- I, umm, I was wondering if you thought anything about having children."_

_The piece of bread in Kurt's hand fell out and bounced on the table, rolling to a stop next to a glass of ice water. Kurt reached up and placed a hand on his chest, a couple of coughs escaping him as he stared up at Blaine with wide eyes. "What?"_

_"Kids. I was wondering what you thought about having a couple."_

_"You're still in school, Blaine! You're not wanting to have kids now, are you?"_

_Blaine blushed, waving a hand in front of his face. "No, god no. Not right now, at least. I mean, we should wait a couple of years until we're more settled down and secure in our finances but-"_

_"You sound like an old married man!" Kurt joked, his breath coming a little bit easier now that he realized Blaine wasn't hinting at wanting a baby right this very moment._

_"I _am_ an old married man," Blaine countered. "But as I was saying, I would like to have a child in the near future. Someone who is a mix of you and me, of course."_

_Kurt looked up, his eyes meeting Blaine's, and his heart throbbed a little bit. He knew exactly what Blaine was talking about: the newly (and he was using that term lightly) discovered Reddin gene. It had been something scientists had been studying for decades and it wasn't until 1994 that the research really took off. Then, during Kurt's sophomore year of college (and Blaine's freshman year - not too long after the two of them officially got back together following a pretty nasty break-up), scientists had announced that they found sufficient evidence that a small sum of the male population carried the gene and with testing, men (especially gay men) could find out if they in fact had the Reddin gene. If found, by receiving proper medical care and monthly hormone injections, one could successfully carry a baby to term. It was a dramatic process for the carrier, according to documented male pregnancy journals, but it was possible and it made it easier for gay men to conceive a child made of both of their own genetics._

_So, right before they got married, both Kurt and Blaine had been tested and it had been found out that Blaine had the gene._

_Which was why Kurt was scared half to death when Blaine had mentioned children... because he just wasn't ready for kids yet. The two of them had so much left to do with their lives, like traveling and enjoying their 20's. In Kurt's opinion, they didn't have time for children right now and even though he wouldn't mind having a baby eventually, he wanted it to happen ten years or more down the road and _not_ right now. Which was another reason why the two of them were exceptionally careful. They always used condoms nowadays and during the times they didn't, Blaine took a birth control pill. Unlike female birth control, since men didn't have menstrual periods, the pill didn't do much for hormones or anything. It just made it so that Blaine couldn't get pregnant and that was that and Kurt was thankful for that damn little blue-grey pill, especially on the nights when they were exceptionally drunk and careless and had unprotected sex._

_But right now, Kurt couldn't help but notice the longing look in Blaine's eyes as his husband stared at him. He knew Blaine loved children - and children just flocked to Blaine, which wasn't a strange thing. Blaine was absolutely precious when it came to kids. He was just so loving and playful and kids loved that. Kurt got to witness first-hand how good Blaine was with a baby once when he baby-sat a toddler for a neighbor. It was during that time that Kurt realized Blaine would someday make a damn good father._

_But not soon though, Kurt just wasn't ready for that._

_Smiling, he reached across the table and took his husband's hand, squeezing it within his own, "Someday, Blaine, I promise. Maybe when we're older we'll have a couple of babies and they'll be perfect."_

_"You think?"_

_"I know so. But... how about we stop talking about kids and maybe go practice making some? I know how much you enjoy that."_

_Blaine snorted into his hand and jumped up from the table, the dinner forgotten as he dashed to the bedroom, Kurt hot on his heels._

::::::::::

"Fuck."

Blaine stared down at the row of sticks and blinked rapidly, the increasing amount of tears filling his eyes now running down his face. He reached up and swiped the tears away as he continued to study the tests before him.

_Positive_.

All of them but one.

What was Kurt going to think?

* * *

**A/N: I'm not new to this fandom at all. But this is my first mpreg fic and my first story under this pen name, so... Please leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't own the musical _Cats_.**

* * *

Blaine couldn't breathe.

His heart was racing wildly in his chest and his stomach was in knots – whether it was because of his nerves or the fact that there could be a _human being _growing in there was to be debated, but still, he felt like he was going to be sick. Leaning forward, he braced himself against the counter by planting his hands on each side of the sink, a low groan slipping from his lips.

He was pregnant. He just had to be. Those tests weren't lying.

::::::::::

"_Fuck, Blaine!" Kurt cried out as he slumped against his husband's back, his body still shuddering from his orgasm. Blaine lay kneeling beneath him, his own breaths labored and shaky as he struggled to hold himself (and now Kurt) up with weak arms._

"_Baby, you're going to have to pull out or something. I can't hold you."_

_Kurt grumbled and slowly slid away from Blaine's back, smirking when he heard Blaine groan beneath him. Kissing the damp curls at the nape of Blaine's neck, he grinned, "Sorry about that, honey. It was just too good."_

"_I'm glad I could be of service. It's all I'm good for nowadays anyway."_

"_Blaine," Kurt scolded. He tugged on his husband's waist until the man had rolled over onto his back. Gently, he lowered himself down to Blaine's level and kissed his sweaty forehead. "Quit talking like that. I'm sorry that I missed dinner this evening, but I was so busy. You know we've got a new issue hitting the stands soon and I had to make sure everything was ready for the go-ahead."_

"_You could have at least called," Blaine pouted, turning away from Kurt. He shrugged out of Kurt's grasp when the other man tried to pull him closer._

"_Blaine, don't do this, please."_

"_Why is it that whenever I plan something for us, you blow it off? You're never home for dinner. You never want to go out or see a movie. You never want to stay in with me... and the only time you really want me is when you want sex!"_

"_That's not true-"_

"_Yes it is!" Blaine yelled, rolling off of the bed with a wince. He stumbled towards the closet and grabbed up his discarded boxer briefs, slipping them over his tender backside. "You come home and decide you want to fuck me senseless instead of actually sitting down to talk to me about anything!"_

"_Well, it's not like you complained! If I remember correctly, you were just begging for my dick two minutes ago!"_

"_Because that's the only way I can be close to you anymore!"_

"_Oh bullshit," Kurt hissed, rising from the bed as well to follow his irate husband into the master bathroom. He paused in the doorway, eyes widening when he caught Blaine tossing back a handful of pills. "What was that?"_

"_What was what?"_

"_Those pills you just took. What were they for? I don't remember you having to take pills."_

"_Well, if you were more observant or home more often, you would've known that I went to the doctor last week about that awful sinus infection I had. Which, by the way, wasn't just a sinus infection – turns out I had bronchitis as well, so they gave me some antibiotics. If you had been here more often, you would've known."_

"_Oh honey. I just thought you were taking some over-the-counter stuff. I didn't-"_

"_It doesn't matter," Blaine whispered, stuffing the pill bottle back into the cabinet. He tried to squeeze past Kurt in the doorway, but found himself tugged back against his husband's chest. "Kurt, don't-"_

"_No, Blaine. Look at us. We're fighting and our anniversary is coming up soon... and I don't want to be fighting then. It's a pretty big one-"_

"_Ten years."_

"_Yes, and I want to celebrate it properly with my husband. No more of this fighting stuff. I'm sorry for not being around."_

_Blaine slumped in his arms, defeat radiating from his stature. "No, you shouldn't be sorry. You've been working so hard and I'm just being dramatic."_

"_You're not dramatic."_

"_I'm sorry for clamming up and not talking to you about how unhappy I was. We promised that we would work on our communication and I'm still failing at that."_

"_It's okay, honey. We've both been pretty crazy lately. I think we should set aside more time to relax, don't you think?" He smiled when he felt Blaine nod against him, "Good, now how about we go snuggle? I miss cuddling my husband."_

"_Okay."_

::::::::::

Blaine placed a hand against his flat stomach.

The baby must have been conceived that night he and Kurt had fought about their lack of communication. Blaine had been on antibiotics during that time and his birth control pills said that a cocktail of them and antibiotics would make the contraceptives less effective, which could explain the reality that Blaine held within him. Rubbing his hand across the plane of his belly, Blaine stared at his reflection in the mirror, turning slightly to see if he could see anything strange about his profile. His stomach looked as toned as ever, so he wasn't far enough along to be showing yet, but the longer he looked, the more he wished that he was showing just a tiny bit.

But if he knew any better (and if his math was correct), he was probably only seven weeks along and he probably wouldn't start showing for another month.

Maybe.

Plus, he wasn't even sure if he was actually pregnant yet. Yes, seven of the eight tests read positive, but he really needed to get some blood work done first before he even attempted to talk to Kurt about the baby...

And- oh _god_, there was the whole _Kurt _of it all.

Blaine's husband had been pushing away the topic of children for a while now, despite Blaine dropping hints for months. They had just celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary a few weeks prior and when they went out to dinner with their friends, the discussion of their family plans was brought up by Rachel, only to have been deflected by Kurt, who had switched the topic from babies to things that happened at his job. Not once during that dinner conversation had he noticed the hurt look that had passed across Blaine's face and that night, when they came home and eventually fell into bed together, Blaine shoved aside the ache from Kurt's earlier dismissal... because in his mind, Kurt would come around when it came to the discussion of their future family.

But he didn't... and now Blaine was pregnant.

...maybe.

Frowning, Blaine stepped away from the sink and moved out of the bathroom, his eyes sweeping the room until they landed on the one thing he was looking for: his cell phone. He walked over to it and picked it up, his fingers scrolling down the list of contacts until he came to Kurt's work number; his hand shook violently, nervousness bubbling deep within his gut as he wondered to himself if he should even call Kurt and ask him to come home.

"No, I'll talk to him later," he whispered to himself. Pocketing the phone, he left the bedroom and ran down the hall to their shared office, dropping down into his desk chair. Before he could even think of telling Kurt, he decided to book a proper doctor's appointment with an obstetrician who specialized in dealing with male pregnancies. For several minutes, he scrolled through several different lists of ob/gyns until he found a suitable one nearest to their apartment.

_Doctor Aida Banes? Okay, I'll try her._ Blaine pulled up the number for Dr. Banes' office and waited patiently for the receptionist to pick up. It only took him a few minutes to set up an appointment and after confirming his information, the woman on the other end reminded him that he should be on the look-out for a package of paperwork for him to fill out within the next two days. Sighing, he hung up the phone and sat back in his chair, his hand slowly rubbing circles over his stomach.

"God, Kurt," he mumbled to himself, eyes flickering back and forth over the pictures of him and his husband that framed their walls. "What am I going to do?"

::::::::::

Kurt groaned, dropping his heavy bags on the floor as he dug into his coat pocket for his keys. He knew Blaine was home, but the poor guy had been feeling awful the last few days, so he was probably fast asleep and Kurt wasn't about to wake him up. Grumbling to himself, Kurt slid the key into the lock and jiggled at it, cursing under his breath when it didn't take. "Damnit," he hissed, jiggling the lock again. It took him a few more tries, but he was able to successfully open the door and slip inside without making any loud sounds, praising the fact that he was able to get into the house at all.

"Remind me to call the landlord and let him know about that sticky doorknob," Kurt muttered to their pet cat Jennyanydots as he dropped the bags of groceries on the table. "Where's daddy, sweetheart?" He leaned down and pet the cat under her chin, smiling as she rubbed against him and purred. "Let's go find daddy."

Cradling Jenny in his arms, Kurt tiptoed down the hall and into the master bedroom, frowning when he noticed the lack of Blaine in their bed. The sheets were rumpled from what looked like a restless nap and the room smelled slightly of vomit, which made Kurt's nose crinkle. "Oh, he was sick again this morning, wasn't he?" Kurt asked the cat, setting her down on the bed as he made his way over to the bathroom. He peered in the doorway and froze, his eyes falling immediately to the strange line of pregnancy tests that lay scattered on the counter.

"You've got to be kidding me," he whispered, walking closer to the tests. His heart stopped beating (or at least it felt like it) when he noticed the plus signs on some of the tests, the double lines on others, and the very obvious _pregnant_ written on another. Only one was negative.

Only one out of _eight _said negative.

Oh god, Blaine was pregnant. Kurt felt like he was going to throw up.

::::::::::

"What the hell are these?"

Blaine started, popping up from his slouched position in the chair. Sometime between scheduling his doctor appointment and now, he had fallen asleep, but someone's voice woke him up. Looking around the room frantically, his gaze eventually fell onto Kurt and the angry expression that was on his face.

"Oh my god, you're home-" His eyes widened comically when he noticed the tests being waved around in Kurt's hand.

"Yes, I found them. What the hell, Blaine?"

"I was going to tell you. I- I just took them about an hour ago."

"I thought you were on the pill!"

"I still am... it must've not worked. We've been using condoms and everything, b-but the tests still came out positive. I'm not even sure if it's actually true or not until I have some blood work."

Kurt scowled, slamming the tests down on the desk. "We've been using protection like clockwork, Blaine. How in the world could this happen?"

"I don't know!" Blaine yelled, rising from the chair. "I think the pills failed during that week I was taking antibiotics; they don't mix-"

"We still used condoms!"

Blaine shrank back. His heart was breaking the more and more Kurt yelled and he knew that he was crying, he just had to be. "Why are you yelling at me?"

"Because we talked about this, Blaine! We aren't ready for a child!"

"_We_ aren't ready or _you_ aren't ready?" Blaine countered. His hand flew down to cover his stomach and Kurt's face contorted into a scowl.

"God, I can't do this."

"Can't do what? What _can't_ you do, Kurt?"

Kurt stepped back, dodging the questioning, hurt look on Blaine's face as he turned on his heel and ran down the hall. Footsteps fell behind him and he sped up, not wanting to get into this with Blaine any more. He needed air, he needed to breathe and right now, it felt like the world was about to collapse around him.

_I'm not ready for this_, he thought to himself, throwing his coat back on over his shoulders.

"Kurt! Kurt, wait! Don't go! Please, we need to talk about this!"

"I need some time," Kurt choked out, fighting with the stuck doorknob for several seconds before he was able to yank the door open. "Just leave me alone." He ran off, the door slamming shut behind him and Blaine collapsed to the floor, sobbing loudly into his hands.

_It wasn't supposed to happen this way._

* * *

**A/N: Before anyone has a cow about Kurt's actions, things WILL be explained in the next chapter. Sorry for the angst. Also, thanks for the follows/favs/reviews and please let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't own the musical _Cats_.**

* * *

Cold, autumn rain beat down on Kurt as he walked through the busy streets of New York City. Everyone else around him had umbrellas and were protected from the rain, but Kurt had forgotten that afternoon's forecast when he left the house, so he was getting soaked.

However, he could barely find it within himself to care.

He had just fled his house even though he and Blaine had promised each other to never walk out during a fight – if one could even classify whatever the hell that was back at the apartment as a _fight. _Less than an hour ago, Kurt came home to find a few positive pregnancy tests sitting on his bathroom counter; the second he spotted the double lines and plus signs, he panicked... and then grew angry.

Because he felt as if he had been lied to. All this time Blaine knew that the idea of having children was off the table for the time being. Kurt had made it clear that he didn't want to start a family until they were financially stable or until they found a bigger place. Also, he just wasn't ready for a child, not when there were so many things he had planned for him and Blaine to do. They were still young, just a little over 30 each, but they had plenty of time for kids... and yet Blaine could possibly be pregnant and it was like all of Kurt's plans had been flushed down the drain.

Frowning, Kurt squeezed between a few straggling walkers and tugged his coat tighter around his now shivering frame. If he had been smarter and less frenzied, he could've grabbed a thicker coat or a poncho or even a damned umbrella, but his brain (at the time) had been frazzled by the thought of a baby and he just forgot. Now he was paying the consequences.

_This cannot be happening to me. Not right now_, his mind raced. He ducked underneath the awning of a coffee shop and pulled out his phone, staring down at the blank screen. Blaine hadn't yet called him and Kurt was pretty sure his husband wasn't going to call at all, not with the way Kurt acted before he fled the scene. Blaine was probably still bawling his eyes out and as much as it hurt Kurt to think about it (god, he had heard Blaine start to break down even before he shut the door), he wasn't about to head back home yet. Not until he cooled down a bit.

Shaking his soaked frame, Kurt re-pocketed his phone and stepped into the coffee shop, ordering the strongest, blackest, largest coffee they had. He tucked himself into a booth in the corner and dropped his head into his hands. A headache was blooming behind his closed eyes and his stomach felt queasy with guilt when he imagined Blaine's broken expression from their earlier dispute.

Blaine had seemed _scared _for Kurt to know about his pregnancy, as if he was planning to hide the entire thing from Kurt until it was too noticeable to ignore. That in itself made Kurt feel terrible, not because he really wanted a child right now or anything, but because Blaine was scared of his opinion and of _him._ As his husband, Blaine should have never had to fear what Kurt thought, but he obviously did and it sort of made Kurt a little annoyed, if not disgusted. He loved Blaine with all this heart, had given his heart freely back to Blaine after it had been brutally shattered during his first year in the city, and even though he tried not to reflect on Blaine's past infidelity, sometimes it crept up on Kurt like a monster in the dark.

Which was why he felt ashamed to admit that the very first thought that had roamed through his mind was that this baby could not possibly be his... because they used protection and because Blaine was on the pill.

But Kurt knew Blaine would never cheat again (and that contraception didn't always work). He had seen first hand how much emotional destruction the cheating and ultimate break-up had done on Blaine, but still, the awful idea still flickered when he first saw those lined up pregnancy tests and Kurt hated that he thought about it. Sighing, he thumbed through his phone and read some texts between him and his husband, especially those that had been sent over the last day or two. Blaine's messages were short and sweet, only because he was sending them in between the times he had been awake and _not_ sick as a dog; and throughout those messages, Kurt couldn't help but smile. He loved Blaine so, so much.

Now if only he could just bring himself to really want this baby, as terrible as that sounded.

::::::::::

"_Seriously Kurt, you should be thankful you and Blaine don't have any kids yet. Life changes when you've got little ones."_

_Kurt nodded as he sipped his martini, looking away from Chase for a second to stare at his gorgeous husband, who was chatting it up with Isabelle on the other side of the ballroom. He focused his gaze back on Chase and frowned when he realized that the man hadn't stopped talking yet._

"_-I mean, when Paul and I discussed having children of our own, I thought we'd wait a little bit, but Paul was dead set on having them now. And when we got the call about adopting a baby, I knew he was ecstatic but I was downright terrified. And when Anastacia was officially ours, my god, it was like our world was turned upside down. Like, do you realize how much a baby costs? Like all of your life goes to that child... and, like, I love Stacia with my whole heart, but sometimes I wish we just waited, you know?"_

"_Mhmm," Kurt hummed, lowering his drink to suck on his lower lip. He watched Blaine for a few seconds more before jumping back into the conversation. "Blaine wants kids, I know he does. He's a carrier and-"_

"_Blaine's got the Reddin gene?"_

"_Mhmm, we found out right before we got married. We're careful when it comes to intimacy and stuff and Blaine's on the pill, but sometimes he'll drop hints about having a baby and I've told him before that I'm just not ready for that and that we should wait, but he still seems resistant to waiting."_

"_I doubt Blaine will do anything that'll jeopardize your marriage though. I remember you and him being broken up when you started here as an intern. There's no way he'd mess that up again."_

"_Oh, I know, but still-" Kurt smiled when he caught Blaine's eye and got a bright grin in return. "I just know he wants kids... lots of them. Whenever we're around our friends' babies, Blaine just gets all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and the kids _adore _him. It's weird. But I know he'll be a great father... but later on in life, you know? I'm just not ready."_

"_I feel ya," Chase said, clinking his drink against Kurt's. "More power to you for waiting."_

::::::::::

Kurt downed the last dregs of his third cup of coffee, a full two hours after he arrived at the coffee shop. It had been at least three, almost four hours since he ran out of his apartment and still he hadn't heard a word from Blaine – not an _are you okay_ text or anything.

_He must be pissed at me_, Kurt told himself as he threw his cup away and exited the coffee shop. The rain had long since stopped but the streets were still wet and slick; a cool haze fell over the city and Kurt crossed his arms over his chest as he speed-walked his away back to his apartment building. Around him people hustled and bustled on their own way home and the lights of the city blinked brightly around him as the nightlife came to fruition. He stepped around a group of people who had stopped to take pictures and sped up his pace, practically running back to his apartment. It took him a while to get there, but he finally arrived back home and after several tries to get the damn lock to work, he opened the door and stepped inside...

To a deathly quiet house.

"_Blaine_?"

::::::::::

"Blainey?"

Cooper pried open the door to his apartment and watched as his little brother stumbled inside, one hand tightly clutching a dufflebag and the other holding a small suitcase. The younger man looked completely wrecked, his eyes red and puffy and his hair flattened down by the rain. Cooper waited until Blaine dropped his stuff in the hall before he crept up behind his brother.

"Are you okay? Did something happen with Kurt?"

"I'm- I'm pregnant," Blaine whispered, his arms slowly crossing over his abdomen. As soon as the words left his mouth, he burst into tears, leaning heavily against the wall. Cooper swept into action, wrapping his brother up into a bear hug.

"Oh, Blainey! You're having a baby! Oh my god!" He squeezed his brother a little tighter before he froze up and then let go. "Wait... you're here with bags and everything- _no fucking way_, did Kurt break up with you?! I swear to god, I'll kill him! I'll kill that little angel-faced bastard the second I see him, I swear to g-"

"Coop, stop," Blaine pleaded, slumping against his older brother. "Can we not talk about him right now? I just- I need to lay down. I feel sick."

"Sure, sure thing, baby bro." Cooper slid one arm around Blaine's waist and tugged his brother towards the living room, slowly lowering the man down on the couch before he ran to his bedroom and gathered up some spare blankets. "Sorry you've gotta sleep on the couch. I haven't really unpacked my bedroom yet, so everything's a mess, but I'll get it all cleaned up and you can sleep in there tomorrow if you want."

Blaine smiled, looking up at his brother with wide, watery eyes. "Thanks Coop," he murmured, closing his eyes when he felt Cooper begin to tuck the warm blankets around his exhausted form. "I appreciate this so much."

"You get some rest, Blainey. I'll be here when you wake up." Gently, Cooper ran his hand through Blaine's damp hair, rolling his eyes when he felt the re-wetted gel come up from Blaine's scalp and coat his fingers. He continued raking his hand through the unruly curls and sighed softly as Blaine's breathing evened out below him. "What did he do to you?" He asked, brows furrowed as he stared down at his brother's puffy eyelids and tear streaked cheeks. Scowling, he stood up from the couch and stormed down the hall to his bedroom, picking up his phone from his nightstand.

He had a bone to pick with his brother's husband.

::::::::::

Kurt had opened every single door in the apartment, from the closets to the bathrooms, and still there was no sign of Blaine.

Their bedroom was empty, the sheets still rumpled like they were before, and the pregnancy tests Kurt had thrown on the office desk were still sitting there untouched. It was like Blaine had up and disappeared and this thought made Kurt's skin crawl. "Blaine? Blaine, this isn't funny! If you're here, answer me!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pressing his number one on his speed-dial. The call went unanswered and anxiety clawed at Kurt's stomach. He dialed the number again and again, only stopping when his phone began to ring between calls.

_Cooper_.

"Coop? Is Bla-"

"What the fuck did you do to my brother?"

"I didn't- what? I-"

"He just shows up at my place, crying and destroyed a-and then he tells me he's pregnant and I had to put two and two together because I couldn't get it out of him and you're trying to tell me you didn't do anything?!"

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and threw himself backward on the bed, his heartbeat calming now that he finally knew where Blaine was. "I walked out. I just needed some air; I-I didn't want him to leave!"

"Well, he did and he's here in Providence looking like shit and it's all your fault!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" Kurt yelled, rubbing his eyes. "I just need to talk to him. I need to tell him I'm sorry and- wait, you said he's in Providence?! As in Rhode Island?!"

"Yeah, he's here and no, you can't talk to him right now, he's asleep. I'll see if he wants to call you in the morning, but there's no fucking way I'm waking him up for you now."

"Cooper, please!"

"No, fuck you, Kurt. I don't know what you did or said to upset Blaine this much, but if he can hop his ass on a bus or a train or however the hell he had to get here and show up on my doorstep looking like a kicked puppy, then I sure as hell don't offer you any sympathy right now."

"Coop-"

The line went dead and Kurt screamed, throwing his phone onto the floor. He smashed his fist into the mattress and threw an arm over his face.

He had truly fucked it up this time.

* * *

**A/N: Woo hoo! Two chapters in a day (this is a rarity from me!) So now we've seen a little bit of Kurt's side of the story, but there's still a lot to tell. Please leave a review; I'd love to hear what you thought! Also thanks for those of you who have reviewed previous chapters.**


	4. Chapter 4

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't own the musical _Cats_.**

* * *

"And you haven't heard from him in three days?"

Chase plopped himself down on the corner of Kurt's desk. He was currently on his lunch break, hanging out in Kurt's office while he thumbed through some pamphlets. He had been pestering Kurt with questions over why his co-worker seemed so glum these last few days, but it came to no avail – Kurt was in no mood to talk. It had been a day or two since the fight with Blaine and Kurt's foul mood had followed him all the way to the offices of Vogue and anyone who knew about the Anderson-Hummels knew something was off when Kurt came dragging himself into work looking like someone had thrown his heart into a blender.

"Hello? Earth to Kurt Hummel? You there?" Chase said as he waved his hands in front of his co-worker's face. Kurt lowered his reading glasses and sat back in his chair, eyes focusing on a photo of him and Blaine that sat on the corner of his desk.

"He won't answer the phone. I've called tons of times and he won't even pick up. I've even called Cooper and he won't let me talk to him!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I've called Blaine's number thousands of times... and it's like he's ignoring me."

"I'm pretty sure he _is_ ignoring you-"

Kurt grimaced, "Chase, I just- could you please leave? I really don't want to get into this with you right now. I'm exhausted and annoyed and-" He pressed the heels of his hands into his tired eyes and let out a deep breath, slumping low in his chair. "Please, Chase, just go."

"Okay, okay, but if you need to talk or anything, I'm right down the hall," Chase offered as he left the room. Once he was gone, Kurt dropped his head onto his desk.

_I wish he'd just answer the phone._

::::::::::

"Oh god-"

"The websites say you should drink some ginger ale or sprite... and maybe nibble on a few saltine crackers. Do you want to try those?"

"No," Blaine moaned, his voice scratchy from being violently sick. He laid boneless against the tiled floor of Cooper's bathroom, his eyes closed and hands linked over his belly. Cooper stood in the doorway, worried eyes downcast as he watched his little brother just finish being ill for the fifth time that morning.

"Do you want me to get you a cup of water? That might help."

"I don't even watch to test it. Nothing's gonna stay down."

"That bowl of chicken noodle soup you had last night was okay, wasn't it?"

At the mentioning of food, Blaine shot up, throwing himself over the toilet seat as he began to expel the rest of his guts. Awful choking sounds ripped from his throat as he vomited and Cooper dashed into action, falling to his knees behind his brother as he rubbed Blaine's back and brushed his curly hair away from his face.

"Oh fuck! Sorry, B. I shouldn't have brought that up. I forgot. I-"

"Just- just go!" Blaine grumbled as he spat in the commode. His exhausted form slid away from Cooper's and curled up into a ball, sinking back against the wall with a thud. His usually tanned skin was splotchy, tear-stained, and pale; he looked awful. "Please Coop, just leave me alone!"

"I just want to make sure you're okay, Blainey. You've been so sick since you got here and-"

"Go! Please!"

A roll of toilet paper flew past Cooper's head and he sighed, popping up from the floor to leave the room. He stepped into the hall and leaned back against the wall nearest to the bathroom, his stomach clenching when he overheard Blaine begin to puke again, his little brother's choked off sobs filtering through the closed bathroom door.

Hours later, Cooper found himself stretched out in an armchair, partially scanning the highlighted lines of his script while he also watched Blaine nap across from him. It had taken his brother a while to finally calm down and try to get some rest, but every once in a while, the younger man would grumble in his sleep, rolling over to curl up in a tiny ball, his arms protectively curled around his waist. Cooper watched as Blaine slept and the longer he stared, the angrier he got that Kurt wasn't there to soothe his ill husband. Poor Blaine was suffering, it seemed; he could barely keep anything down, not even water, and his sleep was constantly interrupted by the sudden oncoming of nausea – something that always had Blaine up and running to the bathroom to puke and cry and continue the cycle over and over again.

_Kurt should be helping him,_ Cooper thought bitterly, a frown forming on his features when Blaine gave a particularly pathetic whimper and curled in tighter on himself. _I have no idea what I'm doing with this. Kurt's the one who should be watching over him. That's his husband and his unborn baby! _With his eyes falling onto Blaine's covered abdomen, a wave of protectiveness and love swept over Cooper and he rose from his seat, dropping his script onto the floor as he made his way to the kitchen. He took a seat on the counter and dialed his brother-in-law's phone number, his foot tapping restlessly against the cabinetry as he waited.

"Cooper? What is it?! What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong except for the fact that you broke my brother's heart and you haven't come here to fix it yet."

"How could I? Neither you nor Blaine will tell me where you're at nor can I barely get a word in inchwise when I speak to either of you!"

"Well, it's hard for me to really care what you think when my baby brother is bawling his eyes out and puking his guts up every five seconds over you."

Kurt's voice softened, "Is he really that sick?"

"That little bugger you implanted in his stomach is eating him alive, I think. He's been really messed up these last few days."

"Oh... poor Blaine. He was so sick before and we thought it was just the flu. I- I... how is he doing now?"

Cooper picked at a loose string on his pajama pants, glancing towards the living room with a frown on his face, "He's sleeping now. He hasn't been able to keep a single thing down the whole day, but I'm gonna try to shove a liter of gatorade or something down his throat when he wakes up. He's looking a bit too pale for it to be normal – I mean, fuck, he's as white as you."

Kurt scoffed, "I'm going to ignore that comment and ask you for your address instead, Cooper. I really need to talk to Blaine face-to-face if you don't mind."

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"No, Cooper! This needs to happen! Blaine can't hide out with you all the time. I need to see him. I need to talk to him and I'm not about to just let him run off without us talking about this-"

"I'm pretty sure he already knows your opinion on the matter," Cooper growled, inwardly rolling his eyes at his brother-in-law. "You don't want the baby and you're mad that he's pregnant."

"I'm not-"

"You are, but despite the fact that I want nothing more to do than to strangle you for hurting my brother, it's ultimately his decision over what he wants to do, so grab something to write on, here's my address..."

::::::::::

The second the pen had hit the paper and Cooper's address was written down, Kurt was online getting ready to book the first flight he could to Providence, Rhode Island. He was able to score one that left early the following morning, so he put out fresh food and water for Jennyanydots and climbed into bed, saving the sparse packing job he was destined to do until the morning. At five am, his alarm blared in his ear and he shot up, flying into the bathroom for a lightning fast shower and some speed packing. He even packed a few items for Blaine before he rushed out of the house and the second he was on the plane, he found himself plotting what exactly he wanted to say to his husband before they saw each other again after several days.

::::::::::

Blaine sunk down into the bed, tugging the comforter tightly around him. His head throbbed and his entire body ached something fierce – plus his stomach felt like it was flipping... not comfortable at all. It wasn't like he hadn't been feeling like this for weeks, but being sick combined with the feeling like someone had stabbed him in the heart with an iron poker was awful. He missed Kurt like crazy; he missed being able to curl up in his husband's arms in the morning, to be able to look up and watch Kurt sleep, his long silky lashes fanning out over his high cheekbones. And he especially missed listening to Kurt hum as he rubbed moisturizer into his flawless skin right before they went to bed in the evenings.

Basically, he just missed _him _and it hurt.

Pushing all thoughts of his husband aside (and ignoring the heavy feeling of his wedding band around his ring finger), Blaine blinked open his tired eyes and took a look around Cooper's bedroom. His older brother hadn't unpacked a single thing since he moved into the apartment a little over a month ago – the living arrangement was only temporary while he was shooting a small movie role – so the room was sparse and tidy. But still, there were little things here and there that just screamed _Cooper_ and one of them happened to be a message board that was tacked up on the wall. In the corner, Blaine spotted a little note addressed to him written in Cooper's recognizable scribbles:

_Went to work! Call my cell if you need anything! :)_

Blaine smiled despite himself and curled up in a ball, the blanket enveloping him in warmth. _I wish this was Kurt instead of a blanket_, he mused, closing his eyes again. The longer he stayed in bed, the better in his opinion; plus, he was praying the baby would cooperate with his stomach for once. However, despite the churning feeling he was dealing with, he was going to take the chance to actually get some sleep. Snuggling further into the mattress, Blaine began to doze off once again, only to be jolted awake by the pounding sound of someone knocking on the front door.

_Ignore it, it's probably the mailman,_ he told himself, closing his eyes. The knocking ceased and then started up again, this time louder and more incessant and beside him, Blaine's cellphone dinged and he groaned, tossing an arm out to reach it.

_I'm outside. Let me in! _

It was from Kurt. Blaine's heart immediately sped up and he dropped the phone on the bed. For a few seconds, he debated on whether or not to get out of his comfortable cocoon, but the longer he thought, the more determined Kurt seemed to get – his knocking got more intense and bothersome.

"I'm coming! Hold on!"

Blaine rolled out of bed, darting a hand out to grab onto the nightstand as he struggled to maintain his balance (he was getting dizzy so easily nowadays.) Rubbing his free hand over his stomach, he mentally willed his body to get it together before he tried to take the few steps he needed to leave the bedroom. He was still swaying as he slowly made his way down the hall and towards the front door, and as soon as he could, he leaned up against the wall in exhaustion once he reached his destination.

_It's now or never, Blaine. Open the door._

:::::::::

"Blaine? Honey, I can hear you. Let me in please?"

Kurt leaned closer to the door and frowned. Blaine's heavy breathing could be heard from the other side and a shiver of worry instantly ran up his spine. "Blaine?" Cripplingly slow, the door opened and Kurt half-smiled, his eyes falling onto his husband. "Hi."

"Hi," Blaine whispered, his honey eyes looking anywhere but at his husband. Kurt's face fell and he reached out to touch Blaine's cheek, only to grasp at air when the other man leaned away.

"Honey?"

"You should come in. It's cold."

Kurt nodded, picked up his suitcase from the ground, and followed Blaine inside. His husband leaned heavily against the wall as he walked, one hand stretched out to brace himself as he turned the corner and went into what seemed like Cooper's living room. Concerned, Kurt watched him for several moments, finally shutting and locking the front door behind him before he followed Blaine into the room. "Are you okay?"

"This morning sickness is brutal, that's all." Blaine said as he laid down on the couch, "You should sit."

"I will, but do you need anything first?"

"No. Can't keep anything down."

"Not even water?" Kurt asked, slightly horrified at the notion that his husband was _that _unwell. "I can get you a glass if you need it."

"No. I'm fine. Quit worrying."

Kurt shook off Blaine's nonchalance and left the room. He moved into the kitchen and got his husband a glass of gatorade from the fridge, almost running back to the living area with it. Worry was still etched across his features, but Blaine barely noticed as he shakily took the glass from Kurt's outstretched hand and put it on the coffee table.

"Thank you."

"Cooper said you've been really sick."

"It's just morning sickness. I'll be fine."

"Is this normal though? You look really worn out."

Blaine just covered his face with his arm and sighed, "Until my hormones get regulated, I'm going to be zonked all the time. That's why I made that appointment with Doctor Banes – _oh my god_, did my paperwork come in? I forgot all about it."

Kurt nodded, "Yeah, I brought it. It's in my bag... I- uh, looked it over before I packed it. There's a lot of stuff in those pamphlets she sent."

"You read the pamphlets? I didn't even know she was sending anything along with the forms I had to sign-"

"Well, she sent things about male pregnancy and what you should expect. They weren't anything special; I didn't really read them. I just saw them in the packet and-"

Whatever he said seemed to trigger something in Blaine and the other man rolled over, turning so that his back was now facing Kurt. His back rose and fell with thick, deep breaths and Kurt gnawed on his lip, wondering what he said wrong. Several seconds went by before Blaine spoke, "You still don't want this, do you? You're still upset."

"Blaine, I...I'm not- I'm not mad, I just- our lives are going to change _forever_. You can't just expect things to go back to normal when a baby's in the picture. You've seen how our friends' lives have changed. They don't have time for anything."

"We barely have time for anything _now_. I hardly ever see you anymore; you're always busy with work and when I'm home, you're out and when you're home, _I'm_ out, so I can't see how you're saying that a baby would change this."

Kurt scowled, "Did you not just hear what you said? _We don't see each other._ Can you imagine us trying to spend time together with a baby in the house?"

"I would hope we could spend _more_ time together once we've had the baby."

"Yeah, like that would happen."

Anger flashed in Blaine's eyes and he rolled over on the couch, glaring daggers at his husband. "God, Kurt! Why are you being so cynical about this? It wasn't like I made this baby alone!"

"Well, you aren't taking into consideration the way _I_ feel about having a child. You just up and left when I told you I need some time to think about it and ever since I got here, you've been distant!"

Blaine sat up, blazing eyes locked on Kurt's face, a sneer on his own as he growled, "You flipped out! What was I supposed to do? Sit there and wait for you to come back?! You left me and you promised you'd never walk out on a fight – you promised and you broke it!"

"So did you when you fucking ran off to Rhode Island and didn't let me know where you were going!"

"You wouldn't have answered your phone anyway!" Blaine yelled. He stood up from the couch and threw his arms up, gesturing wildly at his husband. "You just got so angry and left and I didn't know what to do. I was scared, Kurt. I was terrified and I knew you were upset with me, so I came here. It was either that or go back to Ohio, but I wasn't about to fly back there and deal with my parents-"

"Blaine-"

"And for you to sit here and be angry with me over this really pisses me off. I didn't _plan_ for this to happen. I didn't sabotage you or anything – it just happened and I think it's amazing, no matter what you think! All you can think about right now is _you_ and _your_ plans, but not once have you thought about how _I_ feel!"

"That's not true-" Kurt began, only to be cut off by Blaine.

"Yes, it is! It always is! You always want it your way or no way and I've been sitting here for ten freaking years watching everybody else around us move on and grow up and somehow we're still stuck in time as teenagers. Maybe eighteen year old you wanted to wait to have kids, but _thirty-one year old_ you should have at least talked to his husband about it instead of ignoring the topic all together!"

"We did talk about it. How dare you say we didn't!"

"We _never_ talked about kids. I would bring it up and you would just say _'Someday, Blaine. Just wait.'_ Well, I can't wait forever, Kurt! Carriers only have a short time period to conceive, you know? And I'm already pushing it and you don't care!"

"I don't want a fucking _baby_ right now, Blaine! I _like _not having kids and I'd rather wait a couple more years! This is just messing everything up! Don't you see?! Quit being so fucking selfish all the time and understand that this just doesn't affect you!"

Blaine sucked in a breath, a hand flying to his mouth as he stared with wide, teary eyes at his husband. Kurt was red in the face, eyes wild as he tangled his hands in his hair. Both men were beginning to cry, but from completely different reasons on opposite ends of the spectrum – Blaine was heartbroken over Kurt's outburst and Kurt was furious at Blaine's insistence on having something he felt that neither of them were ready for.

"I- I can't-" Blaine choked out, turning away from Kurt. He was on the brink of sobbing, his shoulders quaking with each sharp breath he sucked in. "You shouldn't have come," he cried. "You sh-should go."

"I'm not leaving without you, Blaine."

"Well I'm not going with you, not if y-you're going to act like this. I want this baby and I'm having it, even if y-you don't want it."

Kurt brought his thumb and index finger up to pinch at the bridge of his nose as he took in a few, deep calming breaths, "Blaine, I just- _please_ just sit down so we can talk about this without screaming at each other? I really don't want to fight with you anymore and I-"

"It's a little bit too late for that, don't you think?" Blaine hissed, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He took one long last look at his husband, shook his head, and left the room, leaving Kurt alone in the living room wondering what the hell just happened.

::::::::::

"_It says here that the average male carrier has the ability to conceive a child between the ages of sixteen to the age of thirty-five. After thirty-five, the body of the male carrier begins to exhibit signs of menopause and the eggs within the carrier become infertile."_

"_So does that mean you'll have hot flashes and all that fabulous stuff that you usually see a menopausal woman deal with in the movies?"_

"_I don't think so. I just think it means that I won't be able to have a baby after that. No hot flashes."_

_Kurt nodded, snuggling into his fiance's side, peering down into the pamphlet Blaine was overlooking. "So we'd have to pop out a kid or two before you hit thirty-five then."_

"_Yep. Hopefully we'll be ready by then."_

"_I'm sure we will. We've got, like, what? Fourteen more years until you hit that age anyway."_

"_We could start now?"_

"_Blaine-"_

"_I'm kidding! Don't freak out!"_

_Kurt rolled his eyes at his fiancé, propping himself up on his elbows to lean down and capture Blaine's lips in a kiss. "You shouldn't scare me like that."_

"_I promise. Never again. Now kiss me."_

"_If you insist."_

:::::::::

The apartment was deathly quiet when Cooper got home.

He just stepped into the house when he noticed how cold and tense everything felt. Honestly, he was expecting to come home and have to plug his ears the second he stepped inside – it wouldn't have been the first time he would've walked into an apologetic love-making session between his brother and Kurt. However, instead of hearing moans of passion or anything else that might've made him run away in horror, all he actually heard was complete silence.

Toeing off his sneakers in the hall, his frown deepened when he noticed Blaine's shoes as well as a pair of stylish boots were lined up side by side.

It looked like Kurt had arrived... and things didn't look too good.

Shrugging off his coat, Cooper tip-toed into the living room and groaned when he spotted his brother's husband hunched over in the armchair, hands clutched tightly in his hair.

"You guys fought, didn't you?"

Kurt didn't even look up, but even with not seeing the other man's face, Cooper knew something bad had happened. "I think we might be breaking up," Kurt croaked out, his voice breaking on the end of his sentence and Cooper's heart stopped at the words. He shook his head in disbelief; that was exactly what he _didn't _want to hear. _Fuck._

* * *

**A/N: Lots of drama, am I right? Hopefully things can calm down soon enough and the boys can have an actual conversation. Let me know what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 5

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) Honestly, I don't own anything.**

**Warning: Discussions of past miscarriage come up in this chapter!**

* * *

"I seriously don't think you guys will break up-"

Kurt's fingers tightened in his hair, "You weren't here, Cooper. You didn't hear the things we said to each other; you didn't see the look on Blaine's face. I- I don't _ever_ want to see that look on his face ever again. And to know that I put that there? I feel terrible." The man hunched further into himself and dropped his hands from his hair to his face, his shoulders shaking as he began to cry.

"Kurt-"

"I can't make myself want this, Cooper. It sounds awful, but I can't. I'm _terrified_ of this. I'm not ready for a child."

"Kurt, man, I'm not the person to talk about this. I mean, I wish I could help you and everything, but wouldn't it be better to talk to your dad about this? Burt's an awesome guy, you should go to him."

"He'd be so disappointed in me. He wants grandchildren too and he'd hate to find out that Blaine's pregnant and that I don't... that I don't want it."

Cooper's stomach clenched as he stared at his brother-in-law. Part of him wanted to throttle the man in honor of his brother, but another part of him sort of understood. It wasn't like he hadn't had his fair share of pregnancy scares with girlfriends past, but this was completely different: Blaine and Kurt were _married_ and they had previously discussed having children... and now Kurt had different feelings on the matter. Meanwhile, Blaine was being torn to pieces by all of this; Kurt was upset with him over the pregnancy, he was sick as hell, and everything was falling apart.

But, looking at his brother-in-law meltdown in front of him, it seemed to Cooper like both men were breaking down and it sucked to see them that way.

"Call your dad, Kurt. Just talk to him and see what he says. It'll do you good."

Kurt shrugged his shoulders, quickly wiping the tears from his cheeks as he stared up at Cooper. "You think it'd be a good idea?"

"I know it would."

Nodding, Kurt rose from the chair and picked up his phone from the coffee table, pausing when his gaze caught on something sitting in the middle of the table. "Coop?"

"Yeah?"

"Blaine, he- he hasn't had anything to eat all day. I got him a glass of gatorade earlier, but he didn't drink it. Could- could you take it to him when you go check on him?"

"Yeah, definitely." Cooper leaned down and picked up the untouched glass, watching with concerned eyes as Kurt left the room and fled to the kitchen. _I hope Burt talks some sense into that kid because I swear-_ He shook his head and went on down the hall, pausing outside of his closed bedroom door. "Blainey? You awake?" He waited for an answer, but finally ended up opening the door after a few moments of silence. Quietly, he snuck into the room and clicked his tongue against his teeth when he noticed Blaine wasn't anywhere to be found.

Then a retching sound came from the bathroom and the whereabouts of Cooper Anderson's little brother were revealed.

Setting the cup of gatorade on the nightstand, Coop slid into the bathroom, ducking down behind Blaine as the boy lurched into the toilet with a broken gasp. "Oh Blaine," he cooed, placing one steady hand on the back of his brother's neck as Blaine threw up. "I'm sorry this is happening. I wish I could help you."

"I got myself into this mess," Blaine blubbered when he finished. Spitting, he leaned back on his feet and then fell against Cooper's chest, his body seemingly depleted of all energy. Cooper closed his eyes, hummed in sympathy, and wrapped an arm around Blaine's slender waist, holding his brother as close to him as possible.

"You're trembling, B. How about we get you back into bed?"

"No, no, don't move, please. I just need- I need to sit here for a minute. I feel dizzy."

"Okay, okay. We'll just sit here. Just close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, okay squirt? Big bro's got you. Just rest. I've got you." Cooper smoothed Blaine's sweaty hair back and listened as Blaine took the calming breaths he needed. Within minutes, the man in his arms relaxed and snuggled against him and it reminded Cooper of those days decades ago when he would try to soothe a feverish Blaine whenever his baby brother got sick and their parents were busy at work. It felt like a million years had passed since then, but sitting there on the bathroom floor with his ill brother in his arms made Cooper feel like he did way back then: helpless. Mentally, he prayed that Burt Hummel was able to get through to Kurt somehow because looking at his little brother now, Cooper wasn't sure if Blaine could deal with anymore stress right now without losing the baby. And he'd be damned if he'd let something like that happen – even if it was beyond his control.

::::::::::

Kurt walked over to an abandoned part of the parking lot and took a seat on the sidewalk, one hand slowly beginning to pick at the grass nestled between the slabs of concrete. He scrolled through his contacts and let his thumb rest on his father's name, his heart racing in his chest as he struggled to gather up the courage to call up his dad and have the most difficult discussion he was ever going to have with him. Ignoring the pang in his heart when he thought about calling _his_ dad and the fact that within the next nine months, he himself may be a father, he pressed dial and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello, Hummel residence. Burt speaking."

"Dad?"

"Kurt! Is that you?"

"Yeah, dad, it's me."

"Welp, what do I owe this special occasion? I thought you were busy this week, bud. Something going on?"

"You could say that," Kurt muttered. He tugged his knees up to his chest and wrapped an arm around his legs, leaning further into himself. "Dad, I- I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh oh. I recognize that tone," Burt said softly. Kurt could imagine him getting settled in his armchair, pulling a blanket over his legs as he got comfortable and waited for his son to let it all out. "What's going on, Kurt?"

"Dad, Blaine and I- we're- I-" He couldn't even finish what he was going to say. Tears sprang up on him out of nowhere and he started sobbing right there in the parking lot, not even caring that there could be passersby staring at him as they walked into the building or down the street. All he wanted right there in that moment was to be in Ohio. He wanted to be a teenager again and to be able to curl up on the couch next to his dad and just bawl his heart out. But instead he was sitting in a foreign parking lot in Rhode Island while his marriage was inevitably falling apart around him and he never felt more alone. Coughing, he brushed off his dad's worried questions and continued, "I think Blaine and I are over."

"You're what? How? What happened?"

And there it was: the inevitable. Kurt couldn't ignore what he was about to do or the things he was about to say, no matter how disappointed he knew his father was going to be. He had to let it all out and let Burt know what was going on and why he felt like he and Blaine were through, even though he knew his dad was going to be disgusted. Biting his lip, Kurt launched into his story, telling his dad about coming home the other day to the pregnancy tests and how Blaine had been deathly ill the last week or so. He rambled on and on about their fight and the things that were said and after several minutes, he finally came to the conclusion and he stopped with a choked back sob, resting his head in his free hand.

The story sounded even worse to him when he repeated it back to his own father.

Burt was going to be _pissed_ with him.

"So..." Burt said after a moment's silence. "Blaine's pregnant and he's staying with Cooper because you two got in a fight and you don't want the baby, am I correct?"

"Yes." Oh god, he was so ashamed in himself.

"Kurt, I- I really don't know what to say, bud. I mean, you're my son and I'm supposed to support you no matter what, but I really don't think this is something I can condone."

He knew it. Kurt fucking knew it but it still hurt to hear his dad voice it out loud.

"Kurt, I- a baby is a blessing. When your mom and I found out you were coming, we were ecstatic. Yeah I was scared out of my ever-lovin' mind, but your mom was so excited and it was amazing to see how much she changed during her pregnancy. Yeah, she was sick all the damn time, but she was so happy to be having you and I got to watch her grow and change and- and it's not as bad as you think it is, Kurt."

"Dad, I just... I don't want a baby right now. I know that's awful to say, but Blaine and I- we're not ready for a kid. Our apartment isn't big enough and we don't have all the money in the world and-"

"I'm really having a hard time believing that _Blaine_ doesn't want a baby. That boy gets so excited when you two are in and you see your friends and their kids. God, he cried more than Sam did the day Whitney was born. You remember that? When you two were visiting and Sam called us from the hospital and sent us those pictures of the baby? Blaine was a mess."

"He was just excited for Sam-"

"Yeah, he was. But he was also a little bit jealous. Don't you remember how much he kept on cooing over those pictures and talking about having one just like her one day? You can't tell me you forgot that already."

The truth was: Kurt _had_ forgotten about it. That weekend they were in, he was trying to balance family time with his parents and Blaine, plus he was trying to put the finishing touches on a spread for Vogue's website whose deadline was coming up quick. He had been half-there and half-somewhere else the entire trip and despite the fact that he remembered getting texts and pictures from Sam and Mercedes about their first born, he barely remembered anything that Blaine (or anyone else, for that matter) said that night.

Burt brushed off Kurt's silence and plowed on, "Blaine's been wanting kids for the longest time, bud. I remember him talking about wanting to start a family with you in his wedding vows... and now here you are telling me that he's pregnant and you don't want any of this at all. Kurt, I... I'm a little hurt by this, to be honest, and I can't even imagine how Blaine's feeling right now. Mostly I'm just shocked."

"Dad-"

"There's nothing more amazing in this world than having a child. I know there's people out there who'd beg to differ and that there's people out there who would never, ever want to have kids at all, but honestly, Kurt... if you were one of those people, you should have _never_ let Blaine believe that you wanted kids someday. You're just breaking his heart and all this stress on him could cause him to miscarry... and I don't even want to think about that." He paused and swallowed thickly, alerting Kurt to the fact that he had upset his father. "If you think Blaine's emotions are off-the-charts now, you don't even want to entertain the idea of what he'd be like if he lost that baby."

"Dad... what?"

"Your mom and I lost a baby after you were born. It was like a year and half after you came along and we found out that we were having another surprise. It was scary because you were still a little thing and all of a sudden we were expecting again, but about three months in, your mom got real sick and started bleeding. It was scary, Kurt. I came home from work and you were in your crib just screamin' your head off and I knew something was wrong. I had to take care of you and then I went to check on your mom and she was just bawlin' somethin' awful."

Kurt sucked in a deep breath, not really wanting to hear the rest of the story, but knowing his father, he was going to go on anyway. Stomach churning, he waited with baited breath for his dad to continue.

Burt sniffled on the other side of the phone and Kurt's heart fell. "Your mom started bleeding that morning. There was blood on the bed and her clothes and the bedding. I found her in the shower just cryin' away. She lost the baby and after that, we couldn't have any more... but we were blessed - we had you! But... I'll never, _ever _forget how hurt your mom was when she lost the other baby... and I don't even want to think about Blaine losing my first grandchild. Knock on wood." A faint tapping sound was heard. "You know, just the other night Carole and I were talkin' about you kids and how we're just old enough for grandkids and how you were all much older than the two of us were when we started having kids-"

"Dad, don't-"

"Let me finish. Like I was saying, Carole and I were talking about being parents in our twenties and how tough it was and how kids these days have all these newfangled things, like them different bottles and formulas and things to throw the smelly diapers in that aren't plain old trash cans... things like that. It's always going to be hard to raise a child, but you guys have so much more than we did back then. There are more medicines, more technologies... things are different now.

"Plus, you've gotta look at the big picture. _Blaine is pregnant_. _Blaine_ is! Years ago, men weren't able to do that. Sure, people may have had the gene, but they didn't have the resources to deal with male pregnancy then and can you imagine how many gay couples back then who didn't know they could have kids and had to suffer with years of waiting to adopt a child? Blaine's carrying a child created out of the love that the two of you share for each other and you don't even want it."

"I wanted kids, just not right now-" Kurt tried to interject, only to be interrupted again.

"I'm having a hard time believing that, kiddo. I know you and when you want something, it's your passion, it's the only thing you have your eye on... and I don't remember you ever saying that about children."

"Dad-"

"But you still have to think about Blaine. He's going to be going through a lot right now; his hormones are going to be all over the place and he's going to be sick and worn out and he doesn't need this added stress."

Kurt ran a hand through his hair for the millionth time, "So then what should I do? I don't want to leave him. I don't want us to break-up because I can't lose him like that!"

"If you don't want this baby, Kurt, then I don't know what to tell ya."

"I- I don't want to lose him."

"Then don't."

::::::::::

Shutting the bedroom door behind him, Cooper dragged his tired body down the hall and peeked into the living room, not phased whatsoever by the man perched at the edge of his coffee table.

"Did you talk to your dad?"

"Yes."

Coop took a seat on the arm of the couch and dropped his forearms to his knees, taking a long hard look at his brother-in-law. "What did he say?"

"He's not too pleased with me right now... and he thinks Blaine and I need to take a break from each other."

"A break?" That wasn't what Cooper was expecting Burt Hummel to say. He legitimately believed the elder Hummel was going to tear his son a new one and order him to kiss and make up with Blaine, but instead, Burt said something completely different. "What do you mean: _a break_?"

"My dad thinks that me being around Blaine is stressing him out. He thinks I should go home and let Blaine stay here with you until I do some thinking."

"And do you think the _thinking_ will do you any good?"

Kurt wrung his hands together, "I don't know."

"Well, if that's what your dad thinks, then I'm going to have to agree with him. You being here with Blaine is only making things worse. Maybe you should go home. I'll keep an eye on Blainers."

Kurt nodded, his shoulders slumping in relief. "I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"Yeah well, so do I. But it's for the best."

Resigning himself to what he was about to do, Kurt pushed himself off of the coffee table and picked up his luggage, tossing the suitcase down on the couch. "I brought some of Blaine's things. Here's his paperwork for the doctor and some of his clothes. I also brought... I brought Margaret Thatcher dog just in case he needed her... and his favorite Dalton fencing hoodie. He tends to cuddle up with these things when he feels bad."

Cooper took the items from Kurt's outstretched hands and placed them on the armchair, watching with narrowed eyes as Kurt zipped the suitcase and stood up pin-straight. "I will call you if anything happens, you do know that right?" Kurt ducked his head and looked at the ground. "And if you need anything, you can call me too, okay?"

"Will you watch him for me?"

"I already told you I would and I have been for the last few days now-"

"I meant, will you keep an eye out for me? I don't want him drifting too far away. He gets- he's-"

"I know my brother, Kurt," Cooper explained, following his in-law to the front door. He waited until Kurt was standing on the doorstep before he continued, "I hope you change your mind soon otherwise you're going to be losing something amazing."

He paused for a response, but Kurt just walked away, hands hastily wiping at his eyes as he left, leaving Cooper (and ultimately _Blaine_) behind in Rhode Island while he went back to NYC to sort himself out.

* * *

**A/N: Look at you guys - getting two chapters in a day! Actually I'm pretty proud of myself. I _never_ update this quick... but now that I said that, I'll probably start slacking, so let's hope my muse stays with me! *knock on wood* Anyway, I plan to get two more chapters out before I leave for a mini-vacation this weekend, so be on the lookout for that. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed; I love reading what you guys think of the chapters!**


	6. Chapter 6

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything.**

* * *

Ten weeks.

Blaine was ten weeks pregnant. The words were something that easily rolled off of the tongue to the nurse who had just examined him, but to Blaine it was like his entire world had just been flipped on its axis and handed back to him. This was it, this was real.

"You've got a ten week old fetus in your belly," Cooper teased, poking Blaine in the side as the younger man fidgeted on the examining table.

"Quit it, Coop."

"No, really! This is so cool. I get to see my little niece or nephew today." He paused, "I do hope it comes out looking like me though; I'd hate for the poor kid to come out looking like you!"

Blaine rolled his eyes and curled an arm over his stomach, kicking his legs back and forth while he scanned over the charts and educational posters that lined the walls. "Do you think Dr. Thompson will be nice?"

Cooper raised an eyebrow, "Are you seriously freaking out right now?"

"No. I just... I wanted to see Dr. Banes but-"

"But you're all the way here in Providence instead of New York, I know. But Banes did recommend this guy, so he can't be all that bad. You've gotta give him a chance, B. He's probably a great doctor. Plus he's delivered loads of babies – and quite a few from male pregnancies according to what that super hot nurse just said."

"Coop-"

"What? She was smokin'!"

"And she was also, like, twenty-five years old. You're forty-two; calm yourself, old man."

Cooper scowled, "I'm just going to ignore the fact that you just insulted my age and point out some of us _have_ to flirt because not all of us marry our high school sweethearts and live happily ever-" He froze, eyes wide when he realized what he just said. Slowly, he raised his gaze to look at his little brother, frowning when he noticed the blank look on Blaine's face. "Oh, man, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"It's okay," Blaine whispered, his hand slowly rubbing smooth circles over his belly. "It's not your fault he doesn't want this... _want us_."

"Blaine-"

Before he could continue, a knock alerted the two to the appearance of Blaine's new doctor. The man looked kind, his hair salt-and-pepper grey, and his eyes a soft, gentle blue. He walked in with a smile and a wave, immediately darting his hand out to shake Cooper's hand and then Blaine's. "Hello, boys. I'm Dr. Thompson! How are you today?"

"Fine," the brothers both chimed in unison, Cooper's voice much brighter and louder than Blaine's now that the other boy had slipped back into a melancholy mood.

"Well, Mr. Anderson-Hummel, is it? Monique's written down here," he gestured to Blaine's chart, "that you believe you're about ten weeks pregnant and that you conceived this baby near the beginning of October, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well then, how about we run a few little tests and see about this little one, hmm?"

::::::::::

"Are you feeling okay?"

Kurt tilted his head and looked up at the woman standing in the doorway to his office. Isabelle Wright had been a part of Kurt's life since the second he stepped into New York more than a decade ago and she had always been one of the first few people (minus Rachel) that he could turn to in his time of need. However, since his fight with Blaine, Kurt had been on a downward slope; he basically shut down completely and was running on auto-pilot. Everything he did was to just get through the day. But even then, it was hard. Going home to a quiet, empty house was terrible; listening to Jennycat meow for Blaine was even worse.

But nothing compared to lying in their king-sized bed all by himself, missing Blaine's body curled up against his side.

He _missed_ Blaine. He missed his husband with every single fiber of his being, but he knew that the entire reason behind him missing Blaine was because of his own foolishness and stupidity. He could easily just pick up the phone and call Blaine, but he didn't. He didn't call, he didn't text, he didn't even bother. He just shoved all thoughts of contact with Blaine to the side and worked.

Which was probably why Isabelle was tutting at him while she walked around his office.

"Chase told me about what happened between you and Blaine, sweetheart." She took a seat on the edge of his desk and brushed her hand through his hair, "Now, I hate that I had to hear it from him instead of you, but I didn't know what to do and you just look _so_ sad, Kurt. But... now I know and I'm sorry to hear that the two of you are fighting, and sweetie, you've got to get a grip on yourself. You're slacking and I know you're not eating and you just look exhausted. Now I don't know exactly what happened but-"

"Blaine's having a baby."

Isabelle gasped, "Really? Oh my god, Kurt! How wonderful! I can't believe- oh, _oh_, okay." She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You don't want the baby?"

"Do you want complete honesty?"

"You know it."

"No. No, I don't."

"Okay," Isabelle said, her voice free of judgement. Kurt slumped against his desk in relief when he heard the tone of her voice. He had expected immediate disgust, but after a second of reflecting, he realized that Isabelle would never do that to him. She always heard him out first before she dealt any sort of advice. Patting his arm, she continued, "Why don't you want the baby?"

"It's not that I- I... a baby wasn't supposed to be in the cards right now. Not for us, at least. All of our friends are having kids and, yeah, that's to be expected. But, Blaine and I had- _still have_ things to do. We were supposed to go travel the world, we were supposed to move into a bigger apartment, and we were supposed to go on a second honeymoon in honor of our tenth anniversary... but-" He stopped.

"But what?"

"But then Blaine got sick and we put off the honeymoon and the next thing I know, he's pregnant and there go our plans right down the drain." He turned his head and rested his forehead flat on the desk, "We had so much planned and now it feels like I'm the only one who wants to finish up our goals and he wants to focus on something else."

"Well, a baby is a _huge_ focal point, in my opinion."

"Isabelle-"

"No, seriously, Kurt, just... listen to me for a minute. I know I'm the worst person to talk about children with, I mean I'm almost sixty years old and I've never settled down or had kids and yeah, that was my own personal choice, _however_, I never found that _special_ someone like you did. Sure, I never really looked and love has never been my forte and I've never had a passion for actual _passion_ than I did for fashion, _but_ I look at you and Blaine and I see _forever_. Tell me you don't see that too?"

"I do, but-"

"Well, if you do, then how can you sit here and tell me that you don't want the one thing that bonds the two of you together in the most intimate, special way. That baby was borne of the love the two of you shared with each other and part of me feels like Blaine recognizes that and maybe you don't."

Kurt sighed, "I get it, I do... I just don't- _I'm not ready_. No one else seems to understand that I'm not ready for a child at this point in my life! I feel like I've only gotten started and now I've got to freeze at this point on the ladder until the kid grows up and moves out and it's not even here yet!" He sat up, leaning back in his chair, "Is, do you realize how much I worked for this? I dealt with so much shit in Ohio and there was so much_ failure_ and _heartbreak_ and then finally, _finally_ it was like I got a break! I got my job here and I got accepted into NYADA and I graduated and I've been in a few shows and I got my promotion here and I'm happy- I _was_ happy- and now look where I'm at? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because of _fetus_."

Isabelle nodded, slowly understanding Kurt's side of the story. However, while he talked, her mind exploded with counterpoints and ideas. Patiently, she waited for Kurt to calm down before she launched into a speech, "Kurt, honey, you know I love you a lot. You've been working with me for years now and I've grown to love you and your friends and family and especially your cute little husband... but everything you just told me? You could totally relate it to Blaine's situation right now as well."

"You what?"

"You just said that you had to work your butt off to make it here... but what about Blaine? Now, listen, Kurt... I'm not trying to judge you whatsoever, but everything you said can relate to Blaine too. Didn't he work just as hard as you? Didn't he deal with the same injustices as you did in high school? I know you may have had it harder in college, but look at you now: you've got a secure position here at Vogue and you've had the opportunity to do shows as well. But- but what about Blaine? He worked at that singing coffee shop after graduation and he had bit parts, but he's always seemed like he's wanted something else. Even after he started teaching those vocal lessons months ago, he still acted like he was lost.

"And then he told me at the luncheon a few months ago that he was excited to finally start a family with you. He told me he was going to talk to you about it after your anniversary and your honeymoon because he knew you wouldn't want to hear about it until then... but honestly, Kurt, I think Blaine really wants this baby. In fact, I _know_ he does and I haven't even seen him since that luncheon."

Kurt just sat silent, his eyes locked on his feet as he absorbed every word Isabelle said. "You're disgusted with me too, aren't you?"

"I never said that. I just said you should look at the _bigger_ picture and maybe look at it from _Blaine's_ side."

"But what about me? No one wants to look at my side. They're automatically taking Blaine's-"

"I also never said anything about taking sides, Kurt. Please don't argue with me. I'm just trying to help."

But despite her reassurances, Kurt had heard enough.

"No. _No_, I see what you're trying to do here, Is. I understand you _think_ you're helping, but honestly, you're not. You're on Blaine's side too. Everyone is," he hissed out the words as he rose from his seat, grabbing up his pea coat from the back of his chair. "I'm going on my break. Please don't follow me."

And then he was gone.

::::::::::

"_What in the world is that?"_

_Blaine turned around, slow but steady since he didn't want to make himself dizzy again (he had an awful experience with collapsing into Cooper just days before and didn't want to deal with that again), his brows furrowed when he spotted his older brother gaping at him in the doorway. "What is what?"_

"_That! Is that what I think it is?"_

"_Well if you would specify what you think _it_ is, maybe I'd know."_

"_That- your belly! Look at it."_

_Blaine moved to stare at his half-dressed form in the mirror, "I don't see anything- oh!" And that's when he spotted it: a slight bump forming where the lower part of his abs used to be. Instead of his usually firm stomach, there was a hard swell of flesh that to the blind eye would look like Blaine had just eaten a large meal, but to both Anderson brothers, it was clear what it was._

"_Oh wow."_

"_Yeah, wow. Look at you! That wasn't there yesterday."_

"_I know," Blaine murmured. He trailed his fingertips over the roundness with a smile. "Hello there, little one. Way to surprise the heck out of me."_

::::::::::

"Here we are! There's your baby!"

"Oh my god, Blainey, he looks like a potato chip!"

Cooper's eyes were wide with amazement as he stared at the image on the tiny screen next to Blaine's bed. His brother's dressing gown was rolled up and Dr. Thompson was running a wand over Blaine's bare, jellied-up belly. On the screen, a black and white mess of images covered the area, but right smack dab in the middle was the cutest little jellybean-like thing. It fluttered around, little pin-sized limbs moving and the longer he watched it, the larger Coop felt his heart swell.

"Oh squirt," he choked out, his throat tight with emotion. "He's cute."

"I can't believe this. It's so surreal."

"It usually is for first-time parents," Dr. Thompson chimed, moving the wand a little lower. "Why don't you cough for me, Blaine? Let's see if we can wake this little guy up!"

Blaine coughed, his eyes remained glued on the screen as the wee baby growing within him fidgeted around, seemingly grumpy at having been disturbed. "Oh my god-"

"You pissed him off," Cooper laughed, leaning forward and planting his chin on his hands, looking very much like a curious child than the proud uncle he was. "This is awesome."

The doctor continued to move the wand around, showing them different angles of the baby while he carried on small talk with them. After several minutes of gauging the baby's form and making sure everything looked okay, he took a few photos and then he turned to Blaine, smiling wide. "Do you want to hear your child's heartbeat?"

Blaine's eyes widened. "Yes, oh my god, yes, I'd love to." He breathed shakily, tears immediately brimming behind his long lashes when he thought about what was about to happen. He was going to hear his baby's heartbeat for the very first time! As he stayed lost in his thoughts, Dr. Thompson dug out the doppler wand and pressed it low on Blaine's belly. He maneuvered it around a bit and then stopped, grinning when a loud whooshing sound filled the room.

"You hear that? That's the baby's heartbeat."

"Oh my god," Blaine gasped out, instantly beginning to cry as the sounds filled his ears. His hand shot out and grabbed Cooper's, squeezing it tight as he listened to the beat of his baby's heart. It sounded strong and healthy and for the first time in a while, Blaine felt lighter than air and happy.

It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard and the ultrasound was most beautiful thing he had ever seen... and Kurt, his husband, _the baby's father_, wasn't there to experience it.

* * *

**A/N: I've never been pregnant so I'm going on the stuff I've seen online and the things my friends and family have told me when it comes to details about doctor's visits and such (feel free to send me ideas or corrections if you see anything wrong.) Also, I took the liberty of guesstimating Isabelle's future age based on SJP's age **_**now**_** so if it seems off, I apologize. This will be my last update for a few days because I'm going on vacation, but please leave me a review. I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday and hope to have a chapter or two out for you then! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything.**

* * *

"Mr. Hummel, call for you on line one."

Kurt shooed his intern away and pressed the blinking button on his office phone, settling back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest while he listened for whoever had called him to say something. "Hello? Is anyone there?" He finally asked after several seconds of unnerving silence.

"Hey Kurt, it's Carole."

"Oh, hey Carole. What's going on?"

"Kurt! Don't tell me you already forgot!"

Kurt's brows furrowed. He sat up in his chair and shoved aside his uneaten lunch, staring down at his desk calendar. It was December 22nd – just a few days until Christmas. _Oh shit._ "Crap. Carole, I completely forgot about your flight coming in tonight. Shit, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, sweetheart. Your dad just wanted me to call you and say that our flight is running late; we've been grounded for the last hour because of the snow, but we should be up and flying soon."

"Do you still need a ride?"

Carole laughed, "Well, unless Finn and Rachel are still in the city and haven't left with Hiram and Leroy for that cruise... umm-"

"No, no, I'll be there. Just give me a little bit. I'm swamped here, but I'll try my best to get out on time to meet you guys at the airport."

"Fantastic. I'll see you later, okay? Love you."

"Love you too. Send my dad my love as well."

With parting words, Kurt hung up the call and slunk down in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He knew his dad was still upset with him; the two of them still talked every other day, but Burt seemed distant in some aspects. He still asked about Blaine, still tutted when Kurt said that Blaine was still in Rhode Island, and before they hung up each time, Burt would say, _Just call him, bud, and talk it out._ But Kurt couldn't, so he didn't.

He hadn't spoken to Blaine since the second he flew out of Providence... but there wasn't a second that went by that he didn't miss his husband.

Actually, just sitting there in his office, staring at the blankness of the white-washed walls, Kurt couldn't help but wonder exactly _what_ his husband was doing at that very moment.

::::::::::

"Why are we stopping here?"

"Because, baby bro, we've only got a couple of days until Christmas and if you didn't notice, my apartment is looking pretty lame right now in the holiday cheer department. Sooooo, we're gonna get a clearance tree! Yay!"

Blaine rolled his eyes at his older brother and shifted his weight in his seat, one hand viciously rubbing at his right hipbone, "We don't need a tree, Coop."

"Yeah, we do! It's just not Christmas without a tree."

"It doesn't feel like Christmas to me," Blaine muttered as he settled back down. His pelvic area was killing him and listening to Cooper talk about the upcoming holiday only made him nauseous when he thought about it; because this was going to be the first year in _forever_ that Blaine wasn't going to be spending the holiday with Kurt. They went from spending every Christmas since their later high school years until last year together and now they were going to be apart. Just the thought made Blaine's heart ache, so he just shoved it aside. "I don't want a tree, Coop. Can't we just go home please?"

Cooper's smile drooped, but he nodded and pulled the car out of the lot, easing it out into the roadway as he darted his gaze from the road to his little brother. "I didn't mean to upset you, B. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You've got nothing to be sorry about. I just- I just don't feel well today."

"It's okay. I understand," Cooper said softly, reaching a hand over the center console to pat his brother's thigh. "Let's head home."

::::::::::

"And then she dropped the whole portfolio on the floor! It was horrible; I thought Isabelle was going to _kill_ her, but she just laughed it off and that was that."

Kurt practically kicked the door to his apartment open, holding it with his foot while his parents slipped inside, dragging their luggage behind them. He waited until they were completely in the apartment before he bumped the door shut with his hip and walked into the kitchen to drop off his bags of Chinese take-out. Jennyanydots came running from the living room, rubbing her head against Kurt's ankle as he dumped out the take-out on the table. "We can eat in here or in the den if you guys want. Your choice."

Carole slipped into the room cautiously, smiling when Jenny-cat came nuzzling up to her. "Wherever your father wants to eat is fine with me, Kurt."

"Okay then. Dad? Do you want to eat in here or in the living room?"

Silence.

"Dad?"

More silence.

Rolling his eyes, Kurt told Carole to help herself before he exited the kitchen and went looking for his father. As he walked, he wrung his hands nervously, peering from room to room to see if his dad was hiding out or just dropping off his things in the guest room. However, he found himself freezing to a halt when he noticed his dad standing right in the doorway of his and Blaine's bedroom. "Dad?"

"I talked to Cooper a few hours ago."

"Oh?"

"I want him and Blaine here for Christmas."

"Dad, I don't think-"

Burt raised a hand, shushing his son effectively as he stared into the bedroom. One side of the bed was made and barely touched and by just looking at it, Burt knew that side was the part of the mattress his son-in-law usually frequented. "I'm not getting any younger, Kurt. You know that and I know that. This body is old; _I'm_ old. And I'd just like this Christmas to not be dramatic, you know? Plus, I know you and Blaine aren't doing well right now, but I'd like to see him too while Carole and I are here. I miss him."

"I know you do."

"And you miss him too."

"I-"

Burt smiled sadly, "For what it's worth, Cooper said that Blaine misses you like crazy. I know you two aren't on the same terms about this pregnancy, but you two are still married and you love each other. Maybe you can spend a night or two together as a family before you decide what you're going to do about this."

"Dad-"

"Just think about it, okay, bud? Blaine's gonna be here in two days and he'll be here for a few more at the most. That's all. Just enough time for us to see him and spend time with the both of you."

Kurt worried his lower lip between his teeth. He wasn't sure how he felt about Blaine coming home; the thought was terrifying to him. The last few words between the two of them hadn't been pleasant and for the last few weeks, Kurt felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and left behind in Rhode Island. He hated being alone in the apartment; he hated coming home to an empty home and not hearing Blaine singing in the kitchen or waking up in the morning to Blaine tucked up against him, breathing slow against his chest. It was so awkward not having his husband around after more than a decade of living together and now, just hearing his father say that Blaine was on his way home, made Kurt's heart ache.

Because no matter what, everything had changed between them. Things were said, feelings were hurt, and Kurt didn't know if they'd be able to come back from that.

And he especially didn't know if Blaine would be able to even face him after the way he acted just weeks ago.

::::::::::

"I don't want to go."

"Oh c'mon, Blaine! We're just going to go for a few days and then we'll be right back here and you can mope around and whatever you want to do, I promise!"

Blaine crossed his arms over his chest and stormed out of the living room, his brother hot on his heels. "I can't believe you planned all of this without asking me what I thought about it! You know what happened between me and Kurt, so why do you want us to be together on Christmas?"

"Burt is the one who wants to see you, B. He called and he-"

"So only Burt wants to see me?"

"Well, yeah... and Carole, too. I mean-"

Blaine blinked, his hazel eyes growing watery as he ran his palm over his stomach. "Kurt didn't say anything?"

"...no? I don't think- oh_ no_, Blaine, I didn't-"

"We shouldn't go," Blaine whispered, his voice strained. Cooper knew the man was struggling not to cry, but he was failing terribly. "I just want to stay home."

"If you don't want to go, then we won't... just- just think about it, okay? Burt and Carole really want to see you. And maybe we can bring along the pictures of _wittle baby chip_ to show them?"

"Please don't call my baby _chip_, okay?"

Cooper smiled, fake-punching Blaine in the arm as his little brother shoved past him to head into the bedroom. He watched as the man fled into the bathroom, then he turned away to head back into the living room, hoping that he was able to plant a seed of thought in Blaine's head about heading to New York to see his in-laws. Plus, if they were able to go back to NYC, maybe Cooper could do some matchmaking and bring his brother and Kurt back together again.

Because, in Coop's opinion, who could resist a picture of an ultrasound?

::::::::::

Carole shut the door to the oven and leaned forward, adding more time to the oven timer so that the Christmas turkey would have another hour to cook. Satisfied, she went back to work stirring the pot of green beans on the stovetop before she turned towards her stepson. Kurt was busy kneading dough to form into dinner rolls, his hands covered in flour (as was the table) as he pounded away into the dough with his fists. Realizing that he was being watched, he directed his gaze up to her and smiled weakly.

"Turkey almost done?"

"In about an hour, sweetheart." She watched as he slammed his fist back into the dough, "You okay over there, Kurt?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to get this bread mixed."

"Well, I'm sure the recipe didn't call for you to beat the dough into submission."

Kurt stopped his motions, staring down at the flattened mass in front of him. "I- I wasn't even paying attention. Sorry, I- these rolls are probably ruined."

Carole smiled sadly, carefully leading Kurt to the side as she took his place in front of the kitchen island and began to piece the beaten down dough back together again. "I'm sure we can fix it, honey. Hand me a little more flour, would you?"

Kurt wiped his hands on a paper towel before he slid the full container of flour to his stepmom and then turned his attention to the clock on the wall. It was almost seven in the evening and according to his dad, Cooper and _Blaine_ were on their way soon. He leaned back against the wall and settled his hands low on his hips, watching as Carole went about fixing the damaged rolls. As he watched, his chest tightened and he felt his eyes water against his will. _Blaine was coming home. Blaine would be there soon._

"Kurt, are you okay?"

Carole had stopped fooling with the bread dough and was now wiping her hands on a dish towel. She quickly dropped the rag and rushed to gather Kurt into her arms, cooing at him when he collapsed against her and began to cry.

"Bl-Blaine's coming home. I just- I haven't seen him since we- I-"

"I know," Carole murmured, brushing her fingers along Kurt's scalp. "I know, sweetie. You're scared and this is a rough time for the both of you, but it'll be okay. You'll be okay, I promise."

"But he- he hates me. Dad hates me and-"

"No! _No_, Kurt. Your dad could _never_ hate you. He's upset, yes, but he loves you so much and he'll always stand beside you, no matter what."

"But I can't make myself love this b-baby. I can't."

"That's okay. Some people aren't fit to be parents."

Kurt cried out, tightening his grip around his stepmom as he sobbed. He hated hearing her say that, that he wasn't fit to be a parent, but that's _exactly_ what it looked like. He didn't want this baby, he wasn't ready to set aside _his_ life or _ his_ time for someone he just didn't feel connected to. But he also felt incredibly selfish. Because not only was he shoving aside his feelings for this unborn child, but he was also shoving aside _Blaine_ as well. Sniffling, he pulled away from Carole and began wiping at his eyes and nose, disgusted at the breakdown he just had on his stepmom's shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your c-clothes."

"It's alright," Carole soothed, pushing a stray lock of Kurt's brown hair back into place. She eyed him up and down for a few minutes before she shooed him away. "Why don't you go blow your nose and wash your face, hun? I'll take care of the rolls."

"Thank you."

Giving Carole one last hug, Kurt trudged his way down to his room, past his sad-eyed father as he stepped into the hallway and almost bumped into the older man.

"You okay, bud?"

"I'll be fine," he muttered, continuing on his way to the master bathroom, his heart racing in his chest as he walked. Burt looked as nervous as he was that Blaine was on his way back and as confident as Carole was that Burt would _always_ stand by his son, Kurt wondered if maybe tonight would be the night that the tables would turn.

::::::::::

"I can't believe we're doing this."

"Well, it's only for a few nights and then if you want, we can leave. Just be cordial to Burt and Carole and that's that. You don't even have to say a word to Kurt if you don't want to."

Blaine sighed, tucking his hands deep into his coat pockets. He walked slightly behind Cooper as his brother lugged their bags to the front door of the apartment. "That's the problem, Coop. I don't have any problem seeing Carole or Burt... it's just that I'm- I'm scared to see Kurt."

Cooper paused, turning his head slightly to stare at Blaine. "Oh, well then that's a different story now, isn't it?"

"You're not supposed to be afraid of seeing your husband... but I am and I feel awful."

"He hurt you-"

"I know, but- but I've hurt him too."

"Yeah, a _long_ time ago, but you two made up since then and I know how much that took out of the both of you to make up back then. We're talking about _now_ though. We're talking about the fact that your husband flipped out on you after finding out that you're having _his baby_, Blaine."

"I know-"

"So your feelings right now are totally justified... and if you need a break or you need some air, just let me know and we can head out. Whatever you want to do."

Blaine nodded, keeping his eyes on his feet as he walked to the door. Deep down, he wanted to argue with his brother, yell at Coop about how he didn't have a choice in the matter over coming to New York for Christmas. But, he had also done some thinking about the whole thing and determined that it would be in his best interests to see his in-laws and to even show them the first pictures of the baby. No matter what, he knew he would be scared to death over seeing Kurt because of what had happened between them, but he also knew that not speaking to two of the people he loved the most would only hurt _him _more in the long run. Huffing, he shrugged his shoulders and then straightened them, picking up the pace with Cooper.

"I'm scared, Coop." He whispered, stopping behind his brother as the older man sat the packages on the ground and went to knock on the door.

"I know. But I'm here, B. Just breathe."

With a final knock, Cooper stepped back and grabbed Blaine's hand, watching with careful eyes as the door opened.

"Cooper! Hello! Come on in! Oh, Blaine, sweetheart, come here and give me a hug!"

Carole clapped her hands together and stepped back, patting Cooper on his back as he carried in their luggage and some Christmas presents into the apartment. Blaine snuck in behind him, his head tucked low as he shyly stepped into the house. It shouldn't have been that way; it was also _his_ apartment, but just entering the place made him feel like an outcast. It just didn't feel like _home_ to him anymore. The smells of Christmas dinner filled the air and instead of the usual scent of fresh laundry, the house was covered with the scents of cinnamon and pine – everything smelled so foreign. Before he left, things were different and now, almost a whole month had passed (_fuck, he had left just after Thanksgiving and now it was Christmas and where did the time go?_) and just knowing this, it felt strange to Blaine. His stomach flip-flopped when he realized just how long it had been since he had been home.

Frowning at her son-in-law's silence, Carole reached forward and calmly took Blaine into her arms, smiling when the man melted into her embrace. "Hello sweetie. I've missed you."

"I missed you too, mom," Blaine murmured as he snuggled into her embrace. Carole pulled away and ran her hands along the lines of Blaine's face tenderly, beaming when her eyes dropped to the waist of Blaine's peacoat.

"Why don't we get you out of this heavy coat and you can come help me in the kitchen? I'm making your favorite: candied yams!"

Blaine blushed, "Mmm. Can't wait." He shrugged out of his coat and allowed Carole to take it and hang it up. While she did so, he wrapped his arms around his waist and listened to the sounds of his brother chatting it up with Burt in the other room. "Where's Jenny-cat?"

"Oh, I imagine she's around here somewhere," Carole said, her gaze still falling to Blaine's covered up waist. "Honey, can I see?"

"See what? _Oh._" He slowly let his arms fall to his sides, his face turning red to the tips of his ears at the feeling of being exposed. When Carole was finally able to take a look at his slightly swollen belly, she squealed in delight.

"Oh my goodness, look at you!" She placed her hands on his elbows and turned Blaine to the side to get a better look, a giggle of happiness squeaking from her throat. "Oh, this is amazing. I can't even believe this! Oh, Blaine, honey, you look amazing." She stared at his belly for a little longer before she looked up at Blaine, her eyes bright with wonder. "Do you mind if... if I touch you? I just want to feel."

Blaine laughed, "I don't think you can feel anything right now, Carole, but sure." He took his mother-in-law's hand into his own and guided it to his stomach, shuddering when her palm curled against him.

"Oh Blaine," she breathed, her eyes watering instantly. "Oh wow. I'm going to be a grandma. I can't believe it."

"Believe what?" A voice asked from the doorway to the living room. Both Carole and Blaine looked up; Burt was standing there, his eyes locked onto where Carole's hand was resting on Blaine's belly. "Wow," he said softly, his voice alight with emotion. Blaine's heart thudded in his chest when he caught the proud look on his father-in-law's eyes.

"Hi dad."

"Hey kiddo. Can I-"

"Sure." Blaine took Burt's hand and set it next to Carole's, watching in amazement as the two of them marveled at his stomach. "It's weird, isn't it? It kinda just popped up the other day. I didn't even notice it, but Coop did and he had a cow."

"You're damn right I did," Cooper added from his spot in the room. He smirked at his brother when Blaine stuck his tongue out at him, but as soon as Blaine turned back to his in-laws, Cooper felt some of the tension melt from his shoulders. _Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all._

But of course, Kurt chose that prime moment to step out of the master bedroom.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay everybody. I got home later than expected and ended up experiencing some serious computer issues. But, all is well for now, so here's the newest chapter. I hope it's not too awful. Let me know what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything.**

* * *

Kurt knew Blaine was there.

He had only went to the bathroom to wash off his face and freshen up a bit after his crying bout to Carole earlier, but sometime in between him fleeing to the bathroom and the last half-hour or so, Cooper and Blaine had arrived. And according to the happy laughter and light conversation he could hear outside the door, Kurt knew that things were going well.

But of course, he had yet to make his entrance and everybody knew how awkward that was going to be.

God, it had been so long since he had seen Blaine. The last time they spoke, they had fought and Blaine had rushed off in disgust with the words that Kurt had said; now, just weeks later, they were about to be reunited and god only knew how things were going to turn out. Just using his imagination, Kurt thought about what his husband would look like after these weeks apart. He would most likely be several weeks along in his pregnancy, so perhaps he could be showing (and that could also explain the high-pitched sounds coming from Carole in the other room) or he could look gaunt from the toll the stress of the last few weeks had taken on him. Either way, Kurt was dying to see him, despite the heartbreak that had been inflicted, and he couldn't help but vibrate in anticipation. Swallowing his fear, he dashed to their vanity and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, taking a second to fix his hair and straighten his shirt before he swam out into the sea of inevitable drama.

_I'm going to see Blaine,_ he thought to himself. _I'm going to see him for the first time in weeks. You can do this, Kurt. It'll be okay._

_It won't be okay._

Sucking in a deep breath, he pulled the bedroom door open and stepped into the hall, his eyes immediately locking onto the scene spread out before him: Cooper was leaning in the archway to the living room and Blaine, his _gorgeous_ husband, was standing by the front door with both of Kurt's parents hands on his stomach – his _slightly more pronounced_ stomach.

_Oh_. Kurt gulped.

"Hey Kurt," Cooper mumbled, nonchalantly addressing his brother-in-law without even looking him in the eye. "Long time, no see."

Kurt didn't say a word; he just walked forward, his eyes frozen on Blaine, who seemed to be watching him in turn, his golden eyes wide and sad-looking. It made Kurt's heart break to see his husband so scared and to know it was all because of him. Plus, Blaine looked exhausted, his skin ashen and lips a little chapped. If anything, Kurt believed that pregnancy was supposed to make the pregnant parent glow, not look sickly and tired. But Blaine was the perfect picture of that - looking sickly, if his appearance said anything. The only thing that seemed off-putting about it all was the fact that before Kurt had even made himself known to the group in the hall, Blaine had seemed happy, just smiling and everything.

Now he looked downright terrified.

"H-Hi Blaine," Kurt said softly, walking closer to his family and not once letting his gaze falter from his husband's. Blaine just watched him carefully, his arms immediately going to lock themselves in a cross around his waist when both Carole and Burt dropped their hands from his belly.

"Hi," the other man whispered back, dropping his eyes to the floor. Carole wrapped her arm behind Blaine's back and patted it gently, continuously looking back and forth from her stepson and son-in-law.

"Do you want us to leave you two alone for a bit?"

Kurt chewed on his lower lip, waiting patiently for Blaine to say something, but nothing happened; it was like his husband had forgotten how to speak. Instead Blaine just stood there with his head downcast and his lips pursed. Kurt waited for what seemed like forever for Blaine to speak, but finally decided on answering for _ them,_ "Do you mind? I just- I need to talk to my husband." From the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Cooper about to protest the idea, but Burt stepped forward and pulled the man out of the room by the elbow, Carole dutifully following behind them.

With their exit, it was as if the tension in the room skyrocketed – it seemed so much more thick in the tiny, tiny hallway.

"Blaine? Do you need to sit down?"

"No, no... I'm fine," Blaine said, his arms unlocking from around himself in order to let one of his hands fall against the minuscule swell of his abdomen. The entire action did not go unnoticed by Kurt and he couldn't stop himself from gasping at the sight. When the air left his mouth, Blaine's eyes shot up from the ground and landed on Kurt's. "I-"

"How far along are you?"

"I'll be eleven weeks tomorrow."

Kurt's eyes widened as he looked back down to his husband's stomach. Flashes of nights alone between the two of them played in his mind, nights where Kurt had run his own hand down the firm flesh of Blaine's torso while he pounded into him from above. He could picture Blaine's stomach perfectly: the way his abs looked when they were glistening with sweat, the way they contracted tight whenever Blaine took a deep breath or when he was screaming Kurt's name and writhing on the bed. But now, from what Kurt could see hidden beneath a (slightly) ill-fitting red cardigan, Blaine's body had changed. His narrow waist, once so tapered and small to Kurt, had filled in just a little and his belly was pooched just a bit, invisible to the naked eye of someone who didn't know about the pregnancy, but oh so very obvious to those who did.

It just made everything more concrete. Blaine was pregnant. Blaine was having a baby. Blaine was having _their_ baby.

_Theirs._

Blaine _and_ Kurt's.

_Kurt's._

Without another word or glance to Blaine's face, Kurt turned and ran, barely making it in time to fall in front of the toilet and throw up.

He couldn't do this. He just couldn't.

::::::::::

"_Oh for the love of god, Blaine! What are you doing?"_

_Blaine jumped back, his shirt falling back into its normal position as he spun around and gaped at his husband with cartoonishly wide owl eyes. If anything, he looked like a spooked deer, caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Kurt would've laughed if he hadn't been so confused at the moment._

"_What am I doing? I- uh, I'm- I'm just looking to see how my ab exercises have been working!"_

_Kurt's eyes narrowed as he stared his husband down. He knew exactly when Blaine was lying and based on the fact that his husband was red-cheeked and beginning to sweat, it was obvious that someone wasn't telling the truth. "Oh, so you were checking out your abs in the mirror... by pushing your stomach out as far as it would go? Seems plausible."_

"_Kurt, I-"_

"_Blaine, honey, honestly... what were you doing? I come in here and you've got your shirt held up and you're staring at yourself in the mirror and you've got yourself all puffed out like a pregnant lady and you- oh my god, Blaine!"_

"_It's not what you think!"_

"_Are you seeing what you'd look like pregnant?!"_

_Blaine dropped his head into his hands, his face completely red and burning hot with shame. "Yes."_

"_Why? What in the world-"_

"_I was just imagining it, okay? I was on Facebook and Sugar posted some belly pictures and she's got the cutest little baby bump, Kurt! I just wondered if... well, when I get pregnant someday, if my belly would be as cute as hers. That's all." He let his arms fall to his side as he looked up at Kurt with the saddest, puppy-eyes Kurt had ever seen, complete with his lower lip popped out._

_He looked ridiculous and Kurt couldn't help himself; he just laughed and laughed._

"_Come here, you idiot," Kurt said, waving his husband to come over. Blaine slowly made his way into his husband's arms, pressing himself close to Kurt's chest with a sigh. "You are the most absurd person I've ever known, but I love you anyway."_

"_Umm, thanks?"_

"_And I'm sure that you'd look cute with a baby belly... or a beer one. Depends on which happens first."_

_Blaine yelped and pulled away, quickly lifting his shirt to look down at his muscled abdomen, "Am I getting a beer belly?! Oh my god! I don't even drink that much! Oh my god!"_

_And once again, Kurt just laughed and laughed._

::::::::::

A long time ago, when Blaine had been staring at himself in the mirror with his belly stuck out and his back arched slightly, Kurt had thought it was hilarious. Also, at the time, he thought it was sort of cute.

But now, with the tables turned and the situations changed, it wasn't funny at all.

Because instead of the roundness of Blaine's stomach having just been Blaine being silly, this time there was an actual human being in there causing Kurt's husband's body to completely change. Blaine had gained weight, he looked tired, he was sick, he was pale, he was _carrying a baby_... a human life.

Gasping for breath, Kurt leaned back over the toilet seat and threw up again, his fingers clutching at the cold porcelain for dear life as he choked and vomited. Outside the bathroom door, he could hear voices and he knew that his family knew something had gone wrong.

As he spit in the toilet, he wondered if they were checking on him or Blaine first and selfishly (as painful as the thought was), he hoped they were coming to check on him.

::::::::::

"Blaine, honey, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

"Why isn't he talking? What's wrong with him?"

"Blaine, bud, look at me. Look at me, son. C'mon."

There were voices. So many voices. They were coming at him in all directions, but Blaine couldn't respond, not when he felt like he was drowning or when he thought he was going to sink beneath all the pressure that had now dropped on his shoulders. He had been foolish to think that seeing Kurt would be a good thing; he had been so stupid to have listened to Cooper's lies about how things were going to be just fine and dandy and that Kurt wanted to see him.

Because Kurt had just run out of the room looking completely green in the face and it had been all Blaine's fault... because he was _there, _because he was back and still pregnant and it was obvious and Kurt didn't want to see it, didn't want to be a part of it.

And Blaine needed to go away. So, he did... or at least he thought he did.

In all reality, the only thing he had done was collapse to the floor. His arm shot out before he fell and he was able to guide himself down to sit flat on his bottom before he zoned out altogether, but as soon as his butt hit the ground, his mind went into a fog.

_Did you really think that this meeting would change things? That because it was Christmas, Kurt would have a change of heart? Idiot. He doesn't want you. He doesn't want this baby. You've ruined his Christmas, you've ruined everyone's Christmas. Hell, you're ruining everyone's lives... did you ever think of that? You can't do anything right._

He gasped and curled up on himself, tugging his knees as close as he could get them to his chest, bursting into tears before he could help himself. The awful thoughts that were racing through his brain grew louder and along with the words of the people around him, he felt like he was going to faint. He pushed an arm out to shove away someone's prying hands and then he sobbed, lunging forward into someone else's outstretched arms. The second the arms wrapped around him, he knew who he was embracing: _Burt_.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he blubbered into his father-in-law's shoulder, shaking with each labored breath he took between words. He kept on mumbling his apologies to Burt and to whomever else was in the room, only continuing to babble on when Burt assured him that it wasn't his fault and that no one was mad at him and that it was going to be okay.

But even though Burt seem sure in his sentiments, Blaine still felt like he was breaking down on the inside and that it was only a matter of time before he crumbled entirely.

::::::::::

Cooper thought he was going to have to murder someone the second he spotted Blaine huddled up on the floor, his chest heaving with each heavy breath he struggled to take in. Just moments before, he had heard the sound of footsteps blazing down the hall and with a swift glance at both Burt and Carole, all three had jumped up and ran out of the living room, immediately training their eyes onto Blaine. Carole rapidly sped into action, dropping to her knees beside the overwhelmed man on the floor, talking to him as calmly as she could.

"I think he may be having a panic attack," she stated, trying to get Blaine's attention. She continued talking to him even after he curled into a ball and began wailing, but soon Burt stepped into the fray and joined in, soothing Blaine's nerves as best he could. It only took a moment and then Blaine had fallen into Burt's arms and cried, curling up against his father-in-law like Burt was the only one at the moment who could keep him tethered to the ground. As soon as Blaine was settled next to Burt, Carole turned to Cooper and gave him a sad smile. "I know you probably don't want to do this, but could you check on Kurt for me? I would, but I don't want to leave Blaine just in case – since I'm the only one with medical training and-"

Cooper fought with the idea for a moment, not wanting to leave his distraught baby brother, but after seeing the pleading look in Carole's eyes, he nodded, rising up from the floor to head off to wherever Kurt had run off to. "Call for me if anything happens to B, will you?"

"I will."

On that final note, Cooper made his way to the master bedroom, pausing outside the bathroom door when he heard the lurching sounds of someone being sick on the other side. "Kurt? Can I come in?"

He didn't get a response, but he honestly felt that he didn't need one, so he just waltzed right in, ignoring the shocked look on Kurt's face.

"Just leave me alone, Cooper."

"I think the _last_ thing you need right now is to be left alone. You're in here tossing your cookies and none of us know why and you've got my brother in there having a panic attack of sorts and I still have no idea what happened but I'm starting to regret coming down here."

Kurt groaned and spat into the commode again before he lifted himself from the floor and went to the sink. He took a small disposable dixie cup from the dispenser and poured some mouthwash into it, swishing the minty disinfectant around in his mouth before spitting it into the sink. "This was a bad idea. You guys shouldn't have come."

"Why? Because you're still pissed at Blaine or because-"

"I'm not mad at Blaine. I just- this is too much for me right now."

"Too much for _you_? Really? You're going to sit here and tell me that this is all _too much for you_. Bullshit."

Kurt turned and glared, his blue eyes blazing as he stared at his brother-in-law. "Don't you dare come in my house and tell me what I can and cannot think! This is scary as fuck, Cooper. You don't know what it's like having your world flipped upside down! I had _plans_ for us and now everything's gone to hell!"

"Oh, and just because _your_ plans got messed up, it means that Blaine's feelings don't account for anything?"

"I never said that-"

"Well, you're implying it! You seem to think you've got it _so_ bad because your husband got pregnant without you two _planning_ it first, but in the meantime, your _husband_ is living with his brother, is always sick as fuck all the time and over-emotional because his own goddamn husband doesn't want him anymore, but it's still _his_ fault because _your_ plans got ruined."

"Goddamnit Coop, I never- I love Blaine!"

Cooper rolled his eyes, turning on his heel to leave the room. He offered a few parting words as he left, "If you loved Blaine as much as you say you do, you wouldn't have your head so far up your ass and you'd be acting like a proper fucking husband instead of breaking my brother's heart every five fucking minutes."

The door slammed on his way out and Kurt smashed his hand into the sink, yelling when his knuckles struck the porcelain hard. "Fuck!" He pulled his throbbing hand back and cradled it to his chest, tears brimming once again behind his lashes as he stepped out of the bathroom and threw open the door to his bedroom, rushing down the hall to the kitchen. He completely ignored the huddle of people in the hallway and went to the fridge, pressing the button on the ice machine to release a few cubes into his hand. Taking the cubes, he tossed them into a dish towel and wrapped it around his aching fist, plopping down onto a stool at the bar.

_How the fuck did this become my life?_

::::::::::

A couple of hours after the fight, not-fight in the hallway, Blaine was curled up on the couch underneath a blanket that had been knitted by his grandmother, his face tear-stained, but calm now that he was asleep. Burt had held him for what seemed like forever, finally able to get the boy down from whatever ledge he had been teetering on in his subconscious, and not too long after Blaine had stopped crying, he just slumped against Burt, fully exhausted. So, Cooper took his little brother from Burt's arms and set him on the couch, tucking him in with a longing look that Burt could only read as helpless.

And then the family waited, waited for Blaine to awaken and waited for Kurt to just say something because the man had perched himself in the doorway to the living room, his hand wrapped in a wet towel while he stared down at his sleeping husband.

And no one said a word.

::::::::::

"The turkey's done. I think I'll go check it. Do you want to help me, Cooper?"

The eldest Anderson brother looked up from the magazine he was reading and raised a curious brow at Carole, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he racked his brain over why Carole was _staring_ at him like that. It took her a few more tries with the same question to finally get Cooper to understand what she meant and he nodded, rising from his seat to follow the woman into the kitchen. Behind them, Burt made a remark about needing some air, so he too left the living room and now Kurt was alone with a zonked Blaine.

Even when sleeping, Blaine looked ten times younger than he did when he was awake. Hell, he looked rather young when he was up and running around too, but as he slept, Kurt couldn't help but look at him like he was still the teenage boy he had fallen in love with the second he laid his eyes on him on the staircase at Dalton Academy. However, it had been decades since that fateful day and both men had been through hell and back over those long years and if one looked close enough, they'd be able to see the lines on their faces that told of each frown, smile, and the like. Kurt thought they were aging gracefully, but the more he watched Blaine, the more he believed that maybe Blaine was aging better than him in some aspects _or_ aging faster in others. For one, it felt like Blaine had matured more than he had. Sure, Kurt's husband had a knack for being immature when it came to music selections and some of the clothes he wore, but other than that, Blaine had grown up nicely into the wonderful man everyone saw day after day. Kurt, on the other hand, felt like he had hit a stalemate. He still felt like he did when he was younger, only that he worked harder and had more responsibilities. If anything, he had done a _lot_ of growing after his and Blaine's major break-up when he had first moved to New York back when Blaine had cheated on him and had broken his heart.

God, it seemed so long ago, but sometimes the pain of the awful memories crept up on Kurt like a thief in the night and it would leave him silent and hurt, even though he had gotten over it a long, long time ago.

Just staring at his sleeping husband and thinking about how he felt way back then made Kurt wonder exactly what was Blaine going through at that moment. The other man was tucked away under a quilt, his arms curled tightly around himself as a bit of a security blanket, something to give him comfort after the things that had transpired earlier. His lips were pulled into a tight line and his brow was furrowed as he slept; Kurt wanted to walk over and run his hand along Blaine's jawline, just to see if his touch would soothe him, but he stayed on the other side of the room and just observed the way Blaine breathed.

_Why does this have to be so hard? Why do you have to keep breaking my heart like this? And why do I keep breaking yours?_

A long time ago, someone at Vogue had teased Kurt about the way he had married his high school sweetheart. Despite the fact that he had explained their separation and ultimate reunion several months later, his coworker had just laughed and said, "High school romances don't last. You'll just live in a fantasy world for a while and then everything will come crashing down and you'll see, Mr. Hummel. You'll see." Of course, after the woman finished her rant, Kurt corrected her about his last name being _Anderson-Hummel_ now and then he brushed off her rude comments with a flick of his wrist, but it wasn't like the words hadn't resonated in his head for a while. For a few weeks after that conversation, Kurt found himself regarding Blaine in a different manner; he watched as his husband did household chores or how he carried himself around the place. He also studied the way Blaine stared at _him_ and the way his face would light up whenever Kurt would enter the room. Blaine loved him, he loved him _a lot_ and there was nothing in the world that would change that.

Well, until Blaine got pregnant and Kurt didn't want the baby and all of a sudden, they were separated and living in different states.

Sighing, Kurt wiggled his numb fingers and adjusted the sopping towel on his hand before he took a few more steps closer to Blaine's unconscious form. He dropped down to sit on the edge of the coffee table and reached out with his good hand, brushing his fingers along the strong lines of Blaine's jaw. He could feel the slight stubble against his fingertips and he shivered when Blaine's breath ghosted on his palm.

"I love you," he murmured, resting his hand against Blaine's cheek. Blaine nuzzled his face against the coolness of his husband's palm, like he had been _aching_ for his touch, and Kurt's lip trembled as he stared down at his sleeping love. "I'm sorry, Blaine. God, I'm so sorry." _I love you so much but I can't deal with this. I don't want to lose you, but I am and I don't know how to stop it. I can't love this baby, not when I'm not ready for it, but I'm not ready to lose you either. I don't know what to do._

He leaned down and pressed his lips to Blaine's forehead, his tears falling into Blaine's hair as he cried. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

::::::::::

Burt walked into the kitchen, his eyes shining with tears over the intimate moment he just witnessed in the living room.

Right away, Carole bustled up to him and wrapped him up in a tight hug, humming softly into his shoulder as she held him. Cooper turned away at the scene, slightly embarrassed to be in the room during such a private moment; his own nerves were frayed as he tucked his shaking hands beneath his armpits and directed his attention to the pots and pans full of food on the stove top. "Do you think it would be better if Blaine and I left?"

Burt looked up from his place against Carole and shook his head, "I know there was a setback earlier, but I think we should just give them a little more time. At least if they spend some time together tonight, then they may just be able to get back on the track they need to be on. If Blaine's not comfortable during dinner or after it or whatever, you guys are more than welcome to head out. I don't want my first grandchild's health to be compromised over this."

"Okay."

The three older adults went about setting the table and putting out all the food. Occasionally, Burt would peek in on his son and son-in-law, smiling when he noticed how soft Kurt's expression got as he stared down at his sleeping husband.

"Burt, could you tell Kurt that dinner is ready and perhaps could you wake Blaine? Cooper said he hasn't eaten for a few hours and it would be best if we got some food into him before he gets too sick."

"Okay, hun." Burt left the kitchen and slowly snuck into the living room, pausing in the doorway when he spotted Kurt's hand slightly hovering over the small swell of Blaine's stomach. _Oh my god, is he going to-_ Before the thought could be completely formed, Kurt yanked his hand back like he had been burnt and dropped it to his side, shaking his head viciously. He rose from his spot on the coffee table and about jumped out of his skin when he saw his dad standing behind him.

"Dad?"

"Dinner's ready, bud. I was just coming in here to get you and to wake Blaine."

"Oh, oh okay. Well then, I'm going to go wash up first."

Burt reached out, wanting to put a hand on his son's shoulder to let him know that he was there for him, but Kurt just shrugged him off and walked out of the room, his non-injured hand rubbing at his eyes as he left.

* * *

**A/N: I was planning on taking the chapter into the Christmas dinner scene, but it was getting pretty lengthy and I've had people complain about long chapters before on other stories I've written, so I stopped it here. I hope you guys don't mind. The next chapter should be out soon though. Please leave a review! I really enjoy reading about your thoughts or what you all think is going to happen!**


	9. Chapter 9

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything. The song Blaine sorta sings in this chapter is Jenny 867-5309 and I don't own that either, though I do have a few CDs with that song on there.**

* * *

_Poor guy looks like he's about two seconds away from falling headfirst into his mashed potatoes._

Burt raised his fork to his mouth and took a bite of his turkey, thoughtfully watching his son-in-law as the man's head bobbed from side to side, his tired eyes blinking rapidly, trying to budge the sleep from within them. It was a sight to see, watching Blaine try to keep himself awake at the dinner table, and Carole was about to burst into a fit of giggles because of it.

"Squirt, do you need to lay back down? You look like you're going to keel over any second."

Blaine blinked up at his brother and shook his head, poking his fork into a pile of green beans with limited gusto. "No, no I'm fine. I just-" He yawned loudly and then blushed, "I just need to eat a little bit. I'll be okay."

Cooper seemed to take this answer well, so the table went back to eating and making small talk. Burt shoveled a spoonful of broccoli casserole into his mouth while watching the way Kurt barely touched his food; his son was busy smashing his potatoes into a pile with his stuffing, his eyes half-on Blaine and half-on the Christmas centerpiece in the middle of the table. The look in his eyes was one of want though, something that Burt had seen multiple times over the years when it came to his boy and Blaine. The very first time he had seen that look regarding his son-in-law was when Blaine first came to the house way back in their Dalton days, back when Kurt was madly in love and Blaine still had his head shoved up his ass. _Oh, how the times had changed._

Smirking to himself, the older man took a sip of his ice water and shot a look to Cooper, not missing the frown on the guy's face. Down the table he followed Cooper's gaze and almost chuckled in pity at what he saw: Blaine had his fork stuck in his ham, chin resting against his chest. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slack. The boy had finally dozed off.

"Blaine? Hey sweetie," Carole couldn't help but grin as she bumped Blaine's forearm with her hand, causing the sleepy man to pop up like a rabbit in his seat. His eyes flickered open and shut for a moment before they flashed along each person at the table; his cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I don't- I don't even remember falling asleep. Oh god, was I snoring?"

"No, hun, you weren't. You just kinda dozed off and I was afraid you were going to collapse into your plate."

Blaine brought his hands up to his flushed face and rubbed at his eyes, his head shaking back and forth as he mumbled to himself. "I'm sorry. I just get so tired nowadays. I-"

"It's okay, B. Maybe you should go lay down for a while? We can wrap up your plate for later and there'll always be leftovers." Cooper began to stand up, making his way over to his brother so he could help him away from the table, but Blaine just waved his hand, shoving Cooper away before the man could get too close.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm gonna stay. I need to eat, so sit. I'm not ruining this meal."

"You won't be ruining it, bud-"

Blaine scowled for a moment, but shook his head, raising his eyes to meet Burt's. "I'll be fine. I promise. If I start to fall asleep again, I'll go... I just- I just don't want mess this up."

Out of the corner of his eye, Burt could see Kurt's hand tense around his fork and he wondered what exactly was going through his son's mind. However, he didn't push, just nodded at Blaine and went back to talking to Cooper about his time as a congressman, occasionally looking at his two boys and hoping that perhaps there would be a Christmas miracle in the works.

::::::::::

It had been at least twenty minutes since Blaine had dozed off at the table the first time and Cooper, Carole, and Burt were giggling yet again over the fact that Blaine was casually nodding off once again. His head bobbed forward, only to jerk back up and then start to sink again, the poor guy completely zapped of all energy as he struggled to eat just a little bit. Everybody felt bad for laughing, but it was adorable watching how hard Blaine was trying his hardest to stay awake.

The only one who didn't seem amused was Kurt, who was watching Blaine with curious, yet worried eyes, his fork still clutched tightly in his grasp. "Aren't you going to make him go to bed?"

"He's just going to argue with me if I try," Cooper said, snapping his fingers in front of his brother's face. "Hey, hey Blainey! Get up, squirt! You're going to give yourself a face mask made of gravy if you don't stop nodding off."

"I'm not- not tired-"

"Sure you are! Up and at 'em, kiddo. C'mon!" Cooper stood up and slid an arm around Blaine's waist, helping his weary brother stand. "Let's get you to bed." He looked over at Kurt and raised a brow, "Should I put him on the couch?"

"You can stick him in our bed," Kurt said softly, causing everyone's mouths to fall open at the tone in his voice. He was avoiding everyone's eyes, but from where he was sitting, Burt could see the moisture that was collecting behind Kurt's long lashes.

"Kurt, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just put him in our room please... before he collapses."

Cooper nodded and half-dragged his sleepy brother out of the dining room, Blaine slumped against him as they walked. As soon as they were out of sight, Carole turned towards Kurt and reached across the table to take his hand within her own. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Kurt dropped his fork onto his plate and put his head into his free hand, tears now falling freely as he cried. "Do you think I'm making a mistake with not accepting this? Do you think I'm being dumb?"

Burt frowned, "Do _you_ think you're being dumb?"

"Yes."

"And why's that?"

"Because," Kurt sobbed, "Blaine's my husband and I helped make that baby, but I can't make myself love it. I can't make myself want a child that I'm supposed to love!"

"Lots of people are scared to become first time parents, Kurt. When my first husband and I found out we were going to have Finn, we were terrified. We were still young and there were lots of things we were planning on doing: roadtripping, going to parties, so on and so forth. But we realized that having a baby wasn't the end of the world. We could get babysitters to watch him or we could take him along, granted the place was safe, but we just owned up to it. Yeah, we were scared to death, but seeing Finn for the first time after he was born was the greatest day of my life and I wouldn't have changed it for anything, not for parties or anything."

Kurt looked up at Carole and stared at her for a few minutes, his eyes still wet. He could see the sincerity behind her bright green eyes; she knew what she was talking about, in his opinion. From what he learned about her over the years, he knew that she and her first husband had been quite the adventurous couple. They liked to ride around on Christopher's motorcycle, randomly leave on long rides to god knows where, and Carole, though she never would admit it, had a few tattoos – Kurt had seen them a few times while he was fitting her for clothing. His father's second wife was a lovely woman and he knew he could respect her opinion and take into consideration her thoughts on the matter. And he was going to, as soon as he got his own thoughts situated. Sniffling, he took a napkin and dabbed at his eyes, wiping away the tears from his cheeks before Cooper came back into the room. He didn't want his brother-in-law to know he had just had a breakdown.

Luckily, just a few seconds after Kurt set his used napkin back on the table, Cooper stepped back into the dining room, his hands rubbing together eagerly. "Okay, let's get back to eating! Blainey's asleep and we can finish our food!"

"Is he okay?" Burt anxiously asked, staring at the eldest Anderson brother.

"Ahh, yeah. He's fine, just exhausted. Male pregnancy is really taxing, I guess. At our last appointment, Dr. Thompson gave Blaine this booklet that told about everything that he should be expecting these last couple of weeks of the first trimester and it's a lot. Like, women go through a bunch with their pregnancies, but with guys, they've gotta get shots and stuff because their bodies aren't capable of actually carrying a baby without help, you know?"

Kurt worried his lip, gaze fixated on his food. "So Blaine had to get shots?"

"Yep," Cooper said around a mouthful of potatoes. "He had a couple of hormone injections the other day and he's due to go back in about two weeks for some more. He was sick as a dog after those shots too. It was pretty bad. Doc said it would happen though; he also said that since Blaine's small in stature for a guy, he's probably gonna show faster than other male pregnancies and he'll probably have a harder time when the baby gets bigger because of his narrow hips and stuff. It freaked me out a little to hear all of that, but Blaine didn't seem to mind."

"Oh, poor thing. I remember being pregnant. It's weird knowing you've got something growing inside of you that you have to nurture and protect, but at the same time you can't really control anything. When I was going to have Finn, I was a nervous wreck."

Burt nodded at his wife, "Yeah, I remember when Kurt was about to be born. His mom and I were trying to make sure everything would be ready for him to come and some days I would have to deal with putting things together on my own because she was just too tuckered out."

"Growing a baby's hard work," Carole said with a laugh, earning a few grins from around the room.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Cooper began, smiling wide, "but I'm excited for the fact that next Christmas, I'm gonna have a little niece or nephew to buy presents for."

Around the table came murmurs of agreement and all Kurt could do was stare at his plate, his mind racing with the thought of a little version of Blaine sitting at the table with them, patting his tiny hands into his food while everyone at the table laughed and looked on.

_That's going to be the norm soon, Kurt. When are you going to be ready for it?_

::::::::::

Hours after finishing dinner and sitting through one viewing of _A Christmas Story_, the elder Hummels went off to bed and Cooper and Kurt found themselves sitting alone in the living room. Neither man spoke nor bothered to even acknowledge the other, but the silence in the room was still stifling.

Jennyanydots laid curled up on Kurt's lap, finally having come out of her hiding space in the laundry room, and Kurt was busy stroking her long fur. Cooper sat across from him in the plush armchair, slowly sipping a glass of eggnog while he watched his brother-in-law.

"So, am I sleeping out here or what?"

Kurt paused, gnawing on his lip in thought. "You can sleep in my room since Blaine's in there."

"You don't want to sleep with your husband?"

"Please Cooper, we're far from friendly right now and you know it. Plus I- I don't know if I could do it."

"What? Sleep next to Blaine?"

"Yeah."

"Huh," Cooper hummed, tossing back the last bits of his drink before he set the cup down on the coffee table. He regarded Kurt with a cool look as he stood up and began stretching his tired limbs. "Well, if you insist that I sleep in that giant bed with my cuddlebug of a little brother, I suppose I can do it. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to do that since you kicked him out."

"I didn't-" Kurt began to protest, only to be cut off by Cooper as the man left the room.

"G'night, Kurt. Merry Christmas!" The man waved his hand as a final goodbye before he fled down the hall and left Kurt sitting there in the living room alone with Jennycat as his only company. Muttering a few curses under his breath, Kurt picked up the cat and set her on the floor, throwing himself backward on the couch with a huff. For several minutes, he stared at the ceiling and contemplated Cooper's words, wondering if maybe his brother-in-law was right. _Did I essentially kick Blaine out?_

_No, you didn't. Blaine left on his own accord. Quit blaming yourself._

His mind whirred with shame and he pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing the oncoming headache that was beginning to pound behind his eyes to just go away. His eyes flickered shut and he let his mind wander into other forbidden territory: the images he saw earlier while he was sitting at the dinner table, the ones of the mini versions of Blaine, what seemed to be like their future child, sitting alongside them celebrating Christmas.

It wasn't long after, his mind still reeling with thoughts of their child, that he fell asleep.

::::::::::

"_Oh Jennycat! There you are. I didn't see you when I came in. I missed you, sweetie!"_

Kurt's eyes blinked open at the scuffle around him. He rolled over and stared at the wall, his blurry, still sleepy gaze falling onto the lit-up Christmas tree, its lights still blinking wildly in the darkness. He hadn't been asleep too long, considering how heavy his body felt and how much his head was aching, but something – or _someone_, for that matter – was in his kitchen making noise and it woke him up. Grumbling, he sat up and kicked his long legs over the sofa, frowning when he noticed the blanket that had been tossed over the bottom half of his body.

_Blaine's grandma's blanket_.

Pulling the covers off, Kurt stood up and stumbled tiredly towards the kitchen, making sure he was as quiet as possible. The closer he got to the kitchen, the louder the sounds grew and from what he could hear, it sounded like Jennyanydots was busy purring up a storm.

_Blaine must be in there_.

Kurt paused in the doorway, his eyes falling onto his husband as he watched Blaine putter around the kitchen, Jenny happily winding her way between his feet as he walked. The pregnant man had all of the containers of leftovers scattered on the counter while he was patiently waiting for his plate to heat up in the microwave. "Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?" Blaine sang as he popped the lids back onto the tupperware. "You give me something I can hold onto." He continued bopping around, tossing the plastic bowls into the fridge carelessly, his voice getting a little louder the closer he got to the chorus.

From his spot in the doorway, Kurt smiled. It had been so long since he last saw Blaine smile like that (god, it had been so long since he had seen Blaine _period_), but seeing his husband goofing around made his heart swell and ache at the same time. _He's so silly. He'__ll be an amazing father,_ he thought to himself_._ He continued to stay swept up in the moment, just watching Blaine dance around the room, that he didn't notice when Blaine had stopped singing a few moments later; it was only until he felt the smooth, warmth of Jennycat rubbing up against his ankle that he snapped out of his trance and found Blaine staring at him.

"Oh-"

Blaine blushed, dropping his gaze to the ground. "I didn't know you woke up."

"I heard something in the kitchen, so I had to investigate. I keep forgetting that I'm not here alone right now so..." He trailed off, crossing his arms over his chest. Blaine nodded and went to grab his food from the microwave, setting the hot plate on the table before he turned to Kurt.

"I was just making something to eat. I woke up and felt like crap and-"

"You didn't get to eat earlier."

"Yeah," Blaine said with a chuckle, looking down at his full dish. "I guess I dozed off during dinner. It happens a lot now... the- the baby makes me tired."

At the mention of the child growing in Blaine's belly, Kurt's eyes darted downward to his husband's stomach, now hidden beneath a NYADA hoodie. He couldn't see the slight swell of the bump like he could before, but just knowing it was there made his stomach churn. "You're almost out of the first trimester, aren't you?" He asked, ignoring the surprised look on Blaine's face.

"Y-Yeah, I am. How'd you- how did you know?"

"Cooper was telling us about it at dinner."

"Oh," Blaine said softly, slight disappointment registering in his voice. "Well, just a week or two left to go and then the fun starts."

"The fun?"

Blaine nodded, picking up his glass of milk and his plate. He began walking to the dining room, Kurt walking slowly behind him as he waited for his husband's answer. "Yeah, the _fun_. From what the pamphlet said, I should be expecting to have a whole lot of weight gain and changes in my body... and then the baby is gonna start moving, but I'm actually excited for that because it just seems awesome that I'm gonna be able to feel him and-" He stopped and set his plate down, a chill running up his spine when he realized exactly _who_ he was talking to and the fact that said person was completely silent. "Kurt?"

"You said _him_? The baby's a _boy_?"

"Well I- I don't know the sex yet; it's way too early, but I think it's gonna be a boy. Call it intuition but I-" The words stalled on the tip of his tongue when Kurt suddenly leaned forward and captured Blaine's mouth in a kiss.

The glass of milk clattered to the floor.

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**A/N: I can't tell if my computer is acting up again or if this website changed fonts on me, but somehow everything seems bigger. Oh well. I hope you liked the chapter. More to come soon! Review please?**


	10. Chapter 10

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

Blaine gasped into the kiss, his hands immediately flying to grasp at Kurt's face as his husband wrapped his arms around him. Kurt's hands fell to Blaine's hips, his thumbs carefully sliding up the bottom of Blaine's hoodie to stroke at his bare hipbones.

"I love you," Kurt whispered when he pulled away, barely waiting for Blaine's response before he dived back in and kissed him again. Blaine moaned against his mouth and pressed closer, shivering when Kurt's hands traveled up his sweatshirt and landed on his belly.

"Kurt-"

"I-I'm still scared, Blaine. I'm not going to sugarcoat this or- or lie to you, but I'm going to try. I'm going to try to get used to this and try to be a good father and everything, I promise. I promise you a-and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting and I'm sorry for treating you so bad. I love you, you know? I love you so much and I'm sorry."

Tears streamed down Blaine's face as he nuzzled closer to his husband and cried against his neck. Kurt's hands were still gently cupped over his tummy, the warm palms feeling foreign against the smooth skin of Blaine's belly.

"I love you," Blaine choked out, squabbling forward to capture Kurt's lips against his own. Both men continued to kiss and embrace, making up for the month's time they lost, neither of them noticing Burt standing there in the doorway, having gotten up to investigate the sound of glass breaking, his eyes alight with unshed tears.

_It's about damn time, _the man thought to himself before he turned and left the room to go back to bed.

::::::::::

The rest of the night was spent sharing warm kisses and snuggling on the couch. Both men slowly became reacquainted with each other, Blaine finding himself happier in that moment than he had been for the longest time and Kurt feeling like the piece of his heart that had went missing was filling in once again.

"I can't believe this is real," Blaine said as he leaned into Kurt's touch, his voice soft and breathy. Kurt's heart ached at the words and he tightened his grip around his husband, one hand linking with Blaine's in reassurance.

"It's real. I'm here, honey."

"I- I didn't think... I was _so_ scared that this was the end of us."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Blaine sniffled and squeezed Kurt's hand tight, his fingers pressing Kurt's wedding band into his palm. Memories of the last few weeks plagued his mind and he frowned, feeling that ever-present dread creep up his spine. "Do you think we're going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I hope so... eventually," Kurt answered, bringing Blaine's hand to his mouth to kiss at his knuckles. Honestly, he didn't know if they'd be alright and he was sure that what he said probably wasn't the thing Blaine wanted to hear, but Kurt needed to be truthful. He was going to _try_, but no one could predict the future and despite how hard he was going to try to accept all of these changes, he couldn't promise or guarantee anything, as hard as it was to say.

"Oh. Okay." The response was downtrodden and Kurt's heart broke to hear it.

"I don't mean to hurt your feelings, Blaine. I just- I am trying and I _will_ try harder to be where you want me to be. I'm not at your level of excitement yet, but I hope to be." He felt Blaine nod against his chest and he tightened his hold on Blaine's hand, pressing it against his heart. "I love you and even though we're healing right now and things have changed between us, I'm going to try to be the husband you deserve. You deserve so much more than what I've given to you over the last month and I'd like to make it up to you. I love you so much and I hate that I've hurt you."

"I love you, too." Blaine murmured. The younger man closed his eyes and willed the stinging feeling behind his eyes to just go away. _We'll make things work, it'll be okay,_ he assured himself. _Kurt's trying and all you have to do is wait for him. He'll get there eventually and everything will be alright._

Sensing Blaine's dilemma (and quite unnerved by his husband's silence), Kurt rested his head on top of Blaine's and sighed, "You okay?"

"Just tired again. I feel like I should get up and eat, but I'm exhausted," Blaine yawned as he curled his leg over Kurt's.

"Take a nap then. I still need to clean up the milk you spilled and put your food away anyway."

Blaine scowled, "It's your fault I spilled the milk. You kissed me."

"I couldn't help it."

"I'm glad you did though."

Kurt smiled against Blaine's hair, "Yeah, me too." He slowly stroked his hand up and down Blaine's spine and hummed low in his throat, finally stopping several minutes later when he felt the soft, slow puffs of Blaine's breath against his neck indicating that the other man had finally fallen asleep. "Love you," he mumbled, cheek pressed against Blaine's hair. "Love you so much."

::::::::::

Hours later, Kurt awoke to find his stepmother fondly watching him in the doorway. She waved at him and then disappeared, only to return with a mug of something hot briskly steaming away in her hand.

"Good morning. Cup of joe?" Carole whispered, smiling brightly as she handed over a cup of coffee to Kurt. Her stepson was leaning against the armrest, his body stretched out so that Blaine could lay on top of him, both of their hands cupped over Blaine's stomach. Blaine was fast asleep, his head tucked into Kurt's arm, and the smile on his face made Carole's heart flutter. "How are you doing?"

"We talked," Kurt said softly, running a hand through Blaine's hair. "We're going to work on this; I can't live without him and he doesn't need to be doing this alone."

"Yes, but are you ready, Kurt?"

"I'm trying."

Carole nodded, patting her stepson's arm. "Well I'm glad. I'm happy for you, sweetheart."

"Thank you. I am too."

"Your father and Cooper are in the kitchen making breakfast. I'm about to go join them. Do you have any requests?"

Kurt chewed on his lip thoughtfully and shook his head, "None that I can think of... well, unless you are making your usual Christmas morning breakfast, then I'm all about that."

"That was the plan," Carole said with a chuckle, disappearing around the corner to head back into the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Kurt took a sip of his coffee and set the cup on the table, turning to kiss Blaine's forehead and admire his husband's rested features. The hand that he had pressed over his husband's stomach slowly began rubbing a smooth circle over the spot where their child grew.

_Their child_. He wondered if he would ever get over that thought.

::::::::::

"_Oh my god, look at you, Tina!"_

_Blaine squealed and grabbed at his friend's hands, stepping back to stare jealously at the roundness of Tina's belly. The girl laughed as Blaine spun her around and then stopped her, staring up with those big old puppy-dog eyes that he used so well._

"_Yeah, yeah, you can feel," Tina said with an air of surrender, laughing when Blaine's hands immediately locked onto her stomach._

"_Oh my god, I can't believe you're having a baby! This is so cool."_

"_Blainey Days! It's not like I'm the first one out of our friends to have a baby."_

"_Yeah, but, a while back, you said you and Mike were gonna wait until you got married to have one and then, BOOM you're pregnant!"_

_"Well, we are engaged, you know! We just have to put the wedding off for a few months until the baby comes, but when she does, you'd better be ready."_

_Blaine's eyes widened dramatically, his mouth dropping into a perfect 'O' before turning into a wide, toothy smile. "It's a girl! Tiiiiiinnnnnnaaaa! Oh my god!" He clapped his hands together and then brought them to his mouth, tears flooding his eyes as he stared at his friend. "I'm so excited for you, lady. So, so excited."_

"_Aww, thanks, Blaine!"_

_A swift kick to Blaine's hand, that he immediately dropped back to Tina's belly, alerted the man to the life within her stomach and he giggled, bright eyes peering up at Tina, "I think she hates me."_

"_I'm pretty sure that was her just showing off her dance moves. Mike thinks she's gonna be a dancer; can't say that I don't agree – my spine and bladder are living proof of this kid's break dancing skills."_

"_It must be fun though... being pregnant, that is."_

_Tina sighed, rubbing a hand over the top of her belly, "It's different, that's for sure. I honestly thought Mike and I were going to wait until later to have kids, but he's got, like, super sperm or something so here we are." She waved at her fiance, who stood across the room talking to Finn, "I'm excited though. I get to have this little girl that I get to dress up and carry around. Like my little sister never let me do that, so I'm stoked." She looked around the restaurant and smiled when she spotted Kurt chatting it up with Mercedes, the two old friends hitting it off happily. "What about you and Kurt? You guys have been married ten years, Blaine! When are you two going to have kids?"_

"_Oh, umm... sometime soon maybe. We haven't really talked about it, but I'm planning on bringing it up after our second honeymoon. Kurt's planned this amazing trip to Paris and I think once we come back, he'll be mellowed out enough to have that convo with."_

"_You mean you guys haven't talked about babies yet?"_

"_Oh, no, we- uh, Tina- don't get me wrong. We have talked about kids, but we decided to wait until we were financially set and more secure in our jobs."_

_A frown spread across Tina's face; she stared back over at Kurt and then looked back at Blaine, "But you aren't working right now-"_

"_I've been tutoring, you know, like, offering voice lessons and piano lessons at the local schools. Plus I've been taking shifts at the bakery, so... it's not like we only have one income coming in. Yeah, Kurt's got the bread-winning job right now, but I'm sure that I can still work whenever we decide to have kids. Plenty of pregnant women and men work up until their due date... why should I be the exception?"_

"_I wasn't trying to demean your work or anything, Blaine. I was just curious as to what Kurt would say. He's just never seemed like a baby person to me."_

"_Kurt loves kids, he just isn't too keen on having them near his designer stuff. But I'm sure he'd be okay with his own kids drooling on his clothes," Blaine teased, blowing a kiss at said husband when the man smiled at him. "After the honeymoon, I'm sure we'll be on our way to catching up to you and Mike, I promise."_

"_Well, I'm sure you already have us beat," Tina mused. "You guys have been married for a decade now; it took that long for me and Mike to even get back together."_

"_And now you're carrying his child. Check you out!"_

"_Shut up." The younger woman hissed playfully, swatting Blaine's arm. "Now lead me to the cake! This child's hungry!"_

::::::::::

By the time breakfast was done, Blaine was up and ready to eat, patiently hovering in the kitchen doorway as Carole put the finishing touches on her apple cinnamon pancakes. His stomach growled loudly and he blushed when the group of others giggled at the sound, Cooper letting out one ridiculous snort.

"God, Blainey. Maybe we should feed you first before your stomach eats itself!"

"I haven't eaten since yesterday, so I'm starving. Sue me!" He stepped past Burt and Cooper and peered over Carole's shoulder, licking his lips while his mother-in-law poured the sugary cinnamon apples on top of each stack of pancakes. "My god, mom... they smell delicious!"

"Good," Carole said, her voice bubbly. She swirled a bit of whipped cream on each stack and quickly handed one off to Blaine, "You need to eat, sweetheart, so you get yours first." As soon as she passed off the plate, she turned and stuck her tongue out at both Cooper and Burt, who were staring at Blaine in jealousy. "He's eating for two now so he gets first dibs, sorry guys."

"Yeah, sorry guys!" Blaine teased as he went to the table; Kurt caught him around the hipbone as he walked by and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth, smiling when Blaine melted against him for a second.

"Kurt, you'd better let Blaine eat first! He hasn't eaten since he got here and he needs to get some food in him before he gets sick," Carole scolded, earning an eyeroll from Kurt as he let go of Blaine and stepped into the fray of hungry men swarming in for breakfast food.

"It looks good, Carole."

"Thank you, sweetie."

The family gathered up all the food they could carry and wandered into the dining room, joining an already chomping Blaine as the pregnant man noshed on his pancakes happily. Carole and Burt stared at their two boys in excitement when Kurt took a seat next to his husband and took the other man's hand within his own, carefully eating with the other. Cooper, on the other hand, shoveled a few bites of eggs into his mouth, his eyes narrowed at his brother-in-law as he wondered what in the world was going on. Sure, he was happy that Kurt and Blaine had made up, but he was still weary of the man who had caused his brother to just show up unannounced in Rhode Island pregnant, scared, and alone.

"So, Kurt," Coop began, stabbing at a strip of bacon, "you and Blaine all good now? Or should I expect Blaine on my doorstep in a few weeks?"

"Cooper-" Blaine gasped, eyes widening in shock. Kurt set his fork on his plate and gave Blaine's hand a squeeze, shaking his head.

"Shh, honey. Yes, Cooper, we're okay. We're going to work on this. We talked last night and determined that the way things went over the last month were not okay. I know I hurt Blaine and I regret it terribly, but we're going to make this work. Blaine deserves more and I'm going to give it to him."

Cooper barely nodded and speared the bacon strip roughly. "As long as Blaine's happy-"

"I am," Blaine said softly, looking up at his brother with earnest eyes. "I'm very happy right now."

The elder Anderson brother regarded both Kurt and Blaine with a cool look before he half-smiled and went back to eating his breakfast. Around him, the table bustled back into life and in the middle of it sat Kurt and Blaine, hands still locked together, fingers entwined tight as they slipped back into their regular husbandly routine.

::::::::::

_Baby it's cold outside!_

Kurt leaned down and pecked a kiss onto the tip of Blaine's nose as they finished their duet. Applause rang around them and both men bowed in appreciation, stepping away from the record player to take their seats on the couch. Carole cheerily smiled at them before she began passing around some gifts from the tree; Burt and Cooper had separated each package by name earlier so the ultimate gift exchange would go easily. With a couple of beautifully wrapped boxes stacked next to each of them, the whole family tore into their gifts – the ones from Kurt first - and marveled at what each present held.

"Oh Kurt, this sweater's gorgeous!"

"It matches your eyes."

"Oh my god, bud, how did you get these tickets?"

"It was nothing."

"Wow, Kurt! This is one fancy watch."

"It'll look good when you're pointing at people-"

"Shut up. I don't do that anymore."

Kurt laughed, "Could've fooled me." He turned to look at Blaine and frowned, confused to find his husband staring blankly at the box he held in his hands. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"How did you fix it?" Blaine asked quietly, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. In his hands he held a tiny package, the lid carefully propped on his kneecap, the rest of the package balanced on his lap. Gold glinted in the middle, surrounded by a deep blue velvet, and Blaine's shaky hands slipped into the box to pull out a shiny gold pocket watch "Wow."

"Isn't that grandpa's watch?" Cooper asked, leaning over to inspect the item in his brother's hand. Blaine nodded and held it close to his chest, tears slowly trickling down his cheeks and falling onto his sweater.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't cry."

"How did you fix it?" He asked again, wiping away the tears. Kurt snuggled closer and pulled the emotional man towards him.

"There's a horologist at the jewelers near my office. I stopped in a few months ago with it and I planned on giving it to you for our anniversary, but it wasn't done in time. I hope you like it though. I had it cleaned and oiled and the guy was able to get it working again. I-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by Blaine's lips, his husband kissing him senseless in thanks.

"God, I love it." Blaine breathed as he pulled away, "Thank you so much. I never thought it would work again and you were able to fix it. Thank you, honey. I love you so much."

"I love you too. I'm so glad you like it."

"I hope you'll like your gift as much I love mine," Blaine whispered, gently setting his watch to the side to gather three similarly wrapped packages from Cooper. He passed one to Carole, another to Burt, and finally, the last one to Kurt. "They're all the same. I hope you like it."

Carole and Burt tore into theirs first, gasping when they completely unwrapped their presents. More nervous than anything, Kurt slowly pulled the paper off of his gift, eyes widening when he peered down at the item in his hands: _an ultrasound photo_. There, in the middle of a medium-sized picture frame, sat a picture of something completely in black and white. In the upper corner, Blaine's name and info was printed and beneath that, settled in the center of the photograph in the middle of a dark circle rested a tiny little bundle, almost the size of a spool of thread. The little 'bean' had tiny arms and legs and looked very much like a baby, despite the grainy appearance in the picture, and just staring at it made Kurt's heart pound dramatically in his chest.

"Do you like it?" Blaine asked hesitantly, his voice soft, terrified that he made the wrong move and ruined what may have been his only chance at reuniting with the love of his life. Kurt sat speechless next to him and even though Carole and Burt were currently cooing over their copies of the photo, only Kurt's reaction mattered to him at that moment. "Kurt?"

_There he is. Our baby. Look at him, Kurt. He's real. He's there._ Kurt looked up at his husband, studying Blaine's watery golden eyes, so much like liquid gold; he blinked owlishly and surged forward, capturing Blaine's lips against his own, already crying the second their lips met. "I love it," he murmured against his husband's mouth, shuddering when he felt Blaine cling to his shoulders. "It's amazing. I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too. Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"God... Blaine, I- Merry Christmas." _I love you. I love you. I love you._

* * *

**A/N: I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. Also the reviews for the last chapter were AMAZING and I appreciated each and every single one. I love hearing your thoughts on the chapter, so keep 'em coming, you awesome people!**


	11. Chapter 11

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

_Cooper grabbed Blaine by the hand and led him away from the distracted Hummel family, his grasp a little tighter than usual, but still gentle nonetheless. He tugged Blaine towards the kitchen and dropped their joined hands, immediately catching Blaine's curious gaze._

"_Are you sure you want to stay here with him?"_

"_What? Coop, what are you trying to say? Of course I want to stay here with Kurt! He's my husband!"_

"_Your husband that had a meltdown a little over a month ago and kicked you out of your own house because he was upset you were having his baby!"_

_Blaine's eyes darted towards the door, scared that maybe Burt or Kurt had heard what Cooper had said. "He didn't kick me out. Kurt's trying for me, Coop. He and I talked about everything and we're going to do this together. It might've taken him a while to get on the same page as I am, but he's getting there and I'm standing by him no matter what you think."_

"_You know I love you, Blaine, and you know I want the best for you, but what if Kurt doesn't live up to his promises? What if he breaks your heart again?"_

"_He won't-"_

_Cooper rolled his eyes, "You don't know that. You can't predict the future, B. All I'm trying to say is that you should be careful. If you're going to stay here with Kurt instead of coming back to Providence with me, then I need to know that you're going to be okay-"_

"_Are you trying to say that Kurt will hurt me?" Blaine almost shrieked, his eyes growing comically wide in fear as he stared at his big brother. "Are you serious right now?!"_

"_Blaine, calm down!" Cooper shushed, placing his hands on his little brother's shoulders. "I just want you to be okay. I never meant to imply that Kurt would physically hurt you, if that's what you're thinking. I meant him emotionally hurting you... like he did before. That's all."_

_Blaine's tense body calmed, sagging beneath Cooper's grip. "He won't, Coop. I know you don't believe it, but he won't hurt me again. I know him, I love him, and I've loved him since I was sixteen. I know my husband and what happened a month ago wasn't like him and he won't do it again. He loves me and he's growing to love this baby. You saw him on Christmas morning with the ultrasound photo. He's going to be a great father, I just know it."_

"_Well," Cooper sighed, dropping his hands from Blaine's shoulders. "If you're sure about this, then I trust your judgement. But, if anything – and I mean anything – changes and you need me to come and get you, I will be on the first flight here and you can come stay with me and we'll figure out things from there."_

"_I'm sure it won't go that far," Blaine grumbled._

"_It's just a suggestion, little bro. Just a suggestion."_

_Cooper pulled his brother into his arms and hugged him tight, only pulling away when Carole stepped into the kitchen and asked them if everything was alright._

"_Everything's fine, Care," Blaine said as he stepped out of the embrace. "Coop and I were just discussing when I could get all of my stuff back from his apartment."_

"_I'm shipping it via UPS when I get home tomorrow morning."_

_Carole smiled, "Great. Well, if you two wouldn't mind, Kurt sent me in here to check on the pot roast and you two are standing in front of the oven." She laughed when both Anderson brothers chuckled and darted out of her way. "Thank you. You should probably go back into the living room before Kurt himself comes barreling in here looking for you."_

"_We are. Thanks mom," Blaine called over his shoulder as he walked into the hall, Cooper hot on his tail. "You have nothing to worry about Coop," he said softly when Cooper fell into step beside him. "We're going to be okay."_

"_If you say so," Cooper mumbled. "You will call me though if you need anything, right?"_

"_I will. I promise."_

"_You'd better."_

::::::::::

Cooper (and Carole and Burt) all left a few days after New Years. As bad as it felt to say, Blaine was sort of happy that his brother went back to Rhode Island, especially after a week of questionable looks sent in Blaine and Kurt's direction. It was as if Cooper still didn't trust Kurt - or Blaine's judgement, for that matter – and was afraid to leave Blaine alone in New York. But, after several days of some serious convincing, Cooper boarded his flight back to Providence and Blaine let out a sigh of relief when he was finally able to sag against Kurt's body in their gloriously empty house.

For days, after the house had been finally emptied of its guests, both men celebrated their reunion by spending their time in bed; slow lovemaking sessions and passionate kisses were at the top of their 'back together again' list and despite the bathroom breaks and the fact that they had to eat every once in a while (or more than that, in Blaine's case), they spent all the time together that they could. Of course, all good things must come to an end and Kurt had to head back into the offices of Vogue to help Isabelle work on a new spread for the website, which left Blaine home alone to his own devices.

Which would explain why Blaine was sitting on the couch, bundled up under a bunch of blankets, watching reality tv show marathons with Jennycat curled up on his lap.

It was now the middle of January and Blaine was a little over fourteen weeks pregnant. His belly was still pooched out, just a little bit more than it was over Christmas, but it was still invisible to the naked eye unless you were looking for it. Blaine thought it was amazing though, that his stomach held within it a life that was most precious to him, and throughout the day, he would rub his hand over the small bump and hum to himself. Even Kurt began to touch it a little more, obviously highly fascinated by the change within his husband's body.

_This is amazing,_ Blaine heard Kurt breathe out one night as they laid in bed, naked and satiated from all the sex they'd been having. Even in his sleepy haze, Blaine could feel Kurt's hand running along the swell of his abdomen and he smiled, covering his husband's hand with his own.

Kurt was coming around. He knew he would.

Sighing, Blaine picked Jennycat up off of his lap and kicked the blanket off of his legs, rising from the couch to go on a fridge raid. He had been having the strongest cravings for peanut butter lately and after Kurt stocked up on several jars, Blaine had eaten his way through a couple within hours. One of those leftover jars was calling his name at that moment, so he dizzily – he had a hormone injection session a few days before at his new doctor's, Dr. Banes, office and he was still feeling the effects – stumbled into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinet for his peanut butter. Grasping a hand around the jar, he hummed in appreciation and opened it, immediately digging a spoon into the creamy mixture, and shoveled it into his mouth.

"I'm becoming such a cow," he mumbled shamelessly to Jennycat, his mouth thick with peanut buttery goodness. "But it's so good and the baby seems to like it, I think." Jenny meowed and rubbed against Blaine's ankles, causing the man to chuckle. "C'mon Jenny, let's go watch more of the Real Housewives of Las Vegas."

::::::::::

Kurt nudged the door open with his foot and blinked roughly against the darkness that was his house. The whole place was completely dark, which was unusual considering how much Blaine loved to leave the lights on whenever he left the room. Frowning, Kurt dropped his portfolio onto the sidetable and, ignoring the fact the he probably should've toed off his snowy boots, went off on a search for his husband, worry bubbling in his gut.

He searched around, not spotting Blaine anywhere. _Where is he? _As fast as he could jog, he rounded the corner to the bedroom, flicked the light on, and felt his quick-beating heart almost stop when he noticed Blaine sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall closest to their master bathroom.

"Blaine?!"

"Hi honey. You're home early?"

"No, I'm not. I'm actually on time," Kurt said as he dropped to his knees right away and began feeling Blaine's forehead. His poor husband was burning up, his face pale but cheeks red as could be. "You're feverish, sweetie. Oh my God, have you been like this all day?"

"No, no I took a nap earlier and woke up feeling crappy, so I came in here to lay down. I dunno, but I had to pee a little bit ago and the next thing I know, you're here."

"And you didn't pee?"

"Not that I can remember," Blaine whispered, falling forward to nestle his warm face into Kurt's neck. "You're so cold."

"It's snowing outside. You're on fire."

"I feel cold."

Kurt gently pried Blaine off of him and leaned him back against the wall. "Stay here. I'm going to get the thermometer and check your temperature. If it's too high, we're going to the hospital."

"I don't wanna go," Blaine whined. "I was just there to get shots and I don't really want to go back." He pulled his knees to his chest and laid his forehead on them. "I'm so tired."

"I know," Kurt said as he kneeled down, thermometer in hand. He pressed the button on it to activate the temperature reader and then slid it past Blaine's lips, gently rubbing his husband's legs as the other man had his temperature taken. "We don't want you getting sick or anything and affecting the baby, now do we?"

"Nuh uh," Blaine mumbled around the thermometer. He closed his mouth when Kurt shushed him and closed his eyes, only opening them again when the device beeped and Kurt took it from him. "What does it say?"

"Oh my God, Blaine... you have a fever of 102.6. I need to call Dr. Banes."

Kurt popped up from the floor and ran off to get his cellphone, leaving Blaine behind to curl back up into a ball and doze off. Several minutes later, Kurt came back and Blaine woke up to his husband's cool hands smoothing away the sweaty, wet curls from his forehead.

"Banes says that this could be an effect of the hormone injections you got the other day. I'm supposed to get you back into bed and monitor your fever all night long. If it doesn't change at all or, god forbid, it happens to get higher within the next few hours, I'm taking you to the emergency room, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine said softly, leaning against his husband's strong chest as the man helped him to bed. "Lay with me?"

"Of course."

As soon as they both snuggled into bed, Blaine fell asleep, his too warm body curled around Kurt tightly. Kurt was worried to death about him, worried that maybe Blaine shouldn't be clinging to him just in case it would cause his fever to rise, worried that something was about to go wrong, and mostly, he was incredibly worried about the health of his husband and unborn baby.

_Oh how far you've come,_ his mind supplied as he ran a hand through Blaine's damp hair. _Quit worrying. Everything will be okay. Blaine will be alright. Your baby will be okay. It'll be alright_.

It was a mantra he repeated for hours that night.

::::::::::

The night Blaine developed a ridiculously high fever was the night that Kurt first realized how much his mindset had changed. He was still scared to death about becoming a father, but he was warming up to it like crazy. When Blaine's fever finally broke the following morning, after several hours of having Blaine drink glasses of ice water and taking a few Tylenols, Kurt was incredibly relieved. He hadn't slept a wink that entire night, his eyes on Blaine the whole time, staring at the freckles across the bridge of Blaine's fever rosy nose and cheeks, and for hours he imagined the worst: that Blaine could possibly be losing the baby or that Blaine himself could be in major trouble.

Overall, the entire ordeal was terrifying.

However, early the following morning, when Blaine woke up and yawned, staring up at Kurt with sleepy half-lidded eyes, Kurt knew everything was going to be alright. Blaine had taken one look at his husband's worried face and frowned on contact. "Are you okay, Kurt? What happened? What's wrong?"

With those curious questions, Kurt fell against him, peppering Blaine's dewy skin with kisses, glad that his husband seemed to be back to one hundred percent. "Let's go back to bed, baby. We can talk more after you're well rested, alright?"

"If you say so."

Then Blaine snuggled back into Kurt's side and allowed the other man to hold him tightly, Kurt not about to let go no matter what.

::::::::::

"Blaine had the worst fever the other night, dad." Kurt said as he scribbled his signature on a few forms that Isabelle's new intern had brought him to sign. "Yeah, they were a side effect of those hormone injections he had a few days ago. I guess he never had them with the first batch of injections; he just got the nausea and vomiting, but this time, his body turned into a walking furnace from hell. It was scary."

On the other line, Burt added how glad he was that Blaine (and his grandbaby) were doing well and Kurt hummed thoughtfully.

"Me too, dad. I thought I was going to go crazy when I found him like that. He scared me."

He was in the middle of listening to his dad tell him a story about something that happened at the shop when Rachel came sweeping into his office, waving cheerfully at him while she waited for him to disconnect the call. With an 'I love you' and a quiet goodbye, Kurt set his phone on the desk and went to greet Rachel, smiling when she threw her arms around him and squealed.

"I missed you so much, Kurt! I wish you and Blaine could've came with me on the cruise!"

"You know how I feel about cruise ships and lord knows Blaine wouldn't have been able to stomach the entire trip. He gets sea sick easily and-"

Rachel gasped, "Is he _still_ sick? Poor Blaine. He's been sick for months."

"Well, yeah, he's still kind of sick, but not as bad as he used to be. That's actually why I wanted to have lunch with you today. Umm, Blaine's-"

Rachel's eyes widened and she shoved past Kurt to grab at a picture that sat behind Kurt's desk, sitting right there as one of the main focal points of the room. She stared at the picture for several seconds, her mouth falling open and shut like a breathing fish. She turned and looked back up at Kurt with large, watery eyes. "You're having a baby! You and Blaine are having a baby! You're going to be parents! Oh my goodness, Kurt! That's why Blaine's been so sick lately! He's carrying a baby!"

"Yeah, yeah he is. He's due in July."

"July?!" She screeched, almost dropping the framed photo in shock. Kurt jumped at her surprise and almost screamed himself when the girl pointed a finger at him in accusation. "That means he's like – what? - _four_ months along and you never _told_ anyone!"

"My dad and Carole both know... and so does Cooper, but that's it. You're the first person I've told that's not immediate family."

"I'm married to _Finn_, your _brother_, Kurt! That's immediate family! Don't you think he would've liked to know too? You could have told us at Christmas or something. Instead you wait until almost a month after to tell me... and let me guess, you want me to tell Finn too?"

Kurt scowled, "Why are you getting so upset?"

"Because- Because I could have sworn that you told me a few months ago that you didn't want kids right now... and now Blaine's, like, almost halfway through a pregnancy and I _just_ found out and Finn still doesn't know that he's going to be an uncle and- _oh my god,_" Rachel froze in her spot, stopping her pacing in its steps as she brought both hands to her mouth. "Oh my god."

"What? Rach, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm going to be an aunt! Kurt, I'm going to be an aunt!"

Tension rolled off of Kurt's shoulders as he watched his best friend begin jumping up and down in his office, her cheeks rosy with delight as she squealed and laughed, continuously saying, _I'm going to be an aunt. I'm going to be an aunt,_ over and over again. "You are," he chuckled, stumbling backwards with an 'oomf' when Rachel slammed into him, curling her arms around him in a octopus like manner.

"I can't believe this! I'm going to be an aunt! Oh my god, this is incredible news! I need to call Finn!"

"We could tell him together, if you'd like. I can call him up and put us on speakerphone."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Go, go, go!" Rachel urged, biting her lip to silence herself as Kurt dialed Finn's number. Within moments, the two of them were yelling the news into the phone, listening excitedly as Finn cheered and spouted off his congratulations to his stepbrother (and brother-in-law.)

"We need to have dinner soon," Rachel suggested, settling down in one of the high backed armchairs across from Kurt's desk. "I want to see Blaine's belly and I need to see it soon."

"It's cute," Kurt mused, thinking fondly about his husband's adorable little stomach. "It's not much, but Dr. Banes imagines Blaine will pop out soon enough since he's such a small guy."

"When did you guys find out? Since he's so far along now, I imagine you guys found out pretty early, right? Like, I can understand not telling everyone during the first trimester because I've heard that people usually wait until after they're out of that since the percentage of miscarriage goes down, but-"

Rachel kept droning on and on, talking about how many of their friends announced their pregnancies early and how some of them didn't say anything at all until much later, but the more she talked, the worse Kurt felt... because he was going to have to tell her what happened, how he pushed Blaine away and how Blaine lived with Cooper for a month until Kurt got it all back together again. And when Rachel finally found out the truth, Kurt knew she would be disappointed in him. He just knew it.

"Umm hello? Kurt? Are you okay?"

Kurt nodded, taking a seat at his desk, arms crossed protectively over his chest. "We didn't tell anyone for a while actually... and that was my fault."

"Your fault? Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Kurt launched into his story, not leaving out any detail of their fight or how he acted when he went to Rhode Island to win Blaine back. By the end of his story, Rachel had her head downcast, eyes focused on the floor, and he could hear her sniffling softly. "Rach?"

"You guys are okay now, right?"

"I think so. Blaine's back at home and we're going better now. What happened before was an awful setback, but we're working on it. _I'm_ working on it."

Rachel carefully wiped at her eyes, "And Blaine?"

"He's doing better. He got sick the other night from his injections, but he was doing just fine this morning."

"And you're sure you're okay?"

"We're as fine as to be expected, I guess. It's not like we can just forget about what happened because it was really serious and wrong and- well, it was a bad moment for us, especially for me. But we're working on everything. Blaine's home now and we're together and it's a lot better now, that's for sure."

"Good," Rachel said, standing from her seat. She walked back to the framed ultrasound photo one more time and then placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm glad you told me everything... and that you and Blaine are okay now." She waited a moment when Kurt covered her hand with his own before she continued, "You're still on lunch break, yes? Do you want to go and get a salad or something? My treat."

"I'd love to, Rach. I'm starving." He rose from his seat and grabbed his coat, following Rachel out of his office and into the fray of bustling Vogue workers. "Thanks for stopping by today, Rach. I appreciate it."

"Well, what are friends for?"

::::::::::

A knock on the door made Blaine jump from his spot in the kitchen, where he had been viciously scrubbing at some stuck on food in his favorite lasagna pan. He dropped the pan back into the soapy water and rinsed his hands, wiping them dry on a dishtowel as he walked. Pausing in front of the door, he peered into the peephole, smiling when he recognized the person on his doorstep.

"Rachel!" He laughed, tugging his friend into a hug. Rachel giggled against him and then pulled away, eyes quickly darting down to where Blaine's t-shirt stretched over his growing belly.

"You've got a baby belly! Oh my god, Blaine!"

She tentatively reached her hands out, aching to touch her brother-in-law's stomach; Blaine, upon noticing her hesitance, took both hands and placed them on either side of his belly.

"It's not much, but it's there."

"It's amazing," Rachel breathed as she stared down at Blaine's stomach. "I can't believe you're having a baby. When I first heard you were sick, Finn and I joked that maybe you were pregnant, but then I saw the ultrasound photo in Kurt's office today and I couldn't believe it! I mean, just look at you, Blaine! You look so cute."

Blaine blushed, gently covering Rachel's hands with her own. "Aww thanks, Rach."

The two friends stood there in silence for a moment, just relishing in the crazy, exciting thing happening inside of Blaine's body. Suddenly, Rachel looked up and a sad smile came across her face. "Kurt told me about what happened between the two of you."

"He did?"

"Yeah, and I just want you to know that when it comes down to it all, if it ever happens again, you can always come stay with me and Finn instead of going to Rhode Island. I don't think it'll happen again, but it's just an option, okay?"

"Thank you, Rachel. I know you said that you don't think it'll happen again and I definitely agree, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Great," Rachel rubbed her fingers along Blaine's waistline before she tugged him into another hug. "I just wanted to stop by before rehearsals and see you. Finn and I were planning on having dinner sometime this week with you and Kurt, so if you have any particular cravings, tell your husband so we can decide on a restaurant or on something to make at home."

"Well, the only thing I'm craving right now is peanut butter... that and raw onions, but if I don't want either of those foods together because that would be disgusting."

"Well I'm sure we can whip up something you'd like," Rachel teased as she made her way back towards the door. "I'm glad I got to see you today, Blaine. And I'm so happy that you and Kurt are finally having kids!"

"And what about you, Rach? When are you and Finn gonna pop out a few?"

"Maybe when I'm not too busy on Broadway and stuff, you know? But sometime soon, I think. Whenever the time's right, yeah?"

"Of course." The two exchanged cheek kisses goodbye and Rachel went on her way, leaving a grinning Blaine waving at her in the doorway. After she left, he went back to cleaning the kitchen, thoughts of the upcoming dinner date with his in-laws running through his mind as he scrubbed the counters and finished washing the dishes.

A couple hours later, when Kurt came home from work and found the entire place smelling newly cleaned and lemony fresh, he knew Blaine had been busy. Of course, finding his husband fast asleep on the couch, curled up next to Jennycat proved just how active Blaine had been. Smiling, Kurt kissed the top of Blaine's hairline with a quiet, whispered 'I love you' and went to call Finn to confirm their dinner plans. About halfway through his phone call, Blaine began fidgeting on the couch, grumbling low in his sleep.

"Hey Finn, I've gotta go. Blaine's waking up. I'll call you later, okay?" He hung up the phone and plopped down on the coffee table across from the couch. He ran a hand over Blaine's stubbly jaw, staring down at his husband while the man yawned and stretched, "Honey, you okay?"

"Fine," Blaine mumbled, leaning into Kurt's touch. "Lay with me?"

"This couch is too small."

"I'll make room," Blaine snuffled, scooting out towards the edge to make room for Kurt to lay behind him. Kurt slowly climbed over his husband, snuggling down into the tiny space between the two of them. As soon as he was settled, Blaine pressed backwards and rolled over, bumping Kurt's chin with his nose. "Thanks for joining me."

"Are you sure you're not going to roll off the couch?"

"I don't plan on sleeping here. I just want to cuddle." Blaine sighed, kissing Kurt slow and sweet. He pulled away with a soft whine and nuzzled Kurt's cheek. "I missed you today."

"Work's getting longer. Isabelle has plans for the website that need to correlate with the magazine, so I've got meetings all week long and who knows what else to do within the next month. The next issue's a big one, so I'm gonna be busy."

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it." Kurt cupped Blaine's chin in his hand and kissed him again, deepening the kiss with his tongue. Blaine moaned beneath him and curled his fingers into Kurt's shirt. "Ugh, Blaine... I don't think this is a good idea on the couch."

"Then let's take it to the bedroom. I need you."

Kurt grinned devilishly and rose up onto his elbow, waiting patiently for Blaine to get off of the couch so he could follow him to the bedroom. As soon as Blaine stood up, however, he swayed backward, Kurt diving forward to catch the man as he stumbled back. "Blaine!"

"Whoa, sorry. I just- I just got a little dizzy. I think I-"

"Sit down, sweetie. Maybe this was a bad idea."

"It seemed like a good idea a few seconds ago," Blaine groaned, leaning back into Kurt's arms. "Sorry I just cockblocked you."

"Shush, honey. Your health is more important than my boner right now."

Blaine snorted and closed his eyes, nestling himself into Kurt. "Thanks for understanding. Love you."

"Love you more," Kurt whispered as he laid back and manuevered Blaine to lay beside him. "Get some rest, silly, and maybe later we can finish what we started."

"Yeah. Maybe later."

Blaine fell asleep not long after and Kurt found himself up for hours once again, wondering how much more Blaine was going to have to deal with when it came to being ill. _Hopefully not much more. I hate seeing him sick like this._

He could only hope.

* * *

**A/N: Long chapter, but it's mostly filler, in my opinion. There's some foreshadowing though, if you look close enough. I hope you liked it. Please review? Let me know what you thought or what you think will happen. I love reviews (but what author doesn't?)**


	12. Chapter 12

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

**Warning: Slight sexual situations in this chapter.**

* * *

"I'm going back to work."

Kurt's fork clattered to the table as he stared in shock at his husband. Blaine sat there, face passive as ever, like what he just said was as normal as asking someone the weather forecast.

"You're what?"

"Going back to work at the coffee shop. I called up Barbara and asked her if it was alright if I came back and she said it was. So, I'm gonna start back up there next week."

"You have got to be kidding me."

Blaine's face fell. He lowered his fork and set it on top of his fettucine, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Kurt. "What's so wrong about going back to work?"

"You're pregnant, Blaine!" Kurt said, his voice sounding louder to him than he thought it was going to sound. He placed his palms out in front of him and sighed, "Listen, I don't mean to get all worked up about this, but honestly, Blaine, are you serious right now? You honestly want to go back to work?"

"I do," Blaine said softly. He rubbed a hand over his small belly and sighed. "I just feel like I'm not contributing to this at all. You're always working and making all the money for us and-"

"You're carrying a _baby_. I'm pretty sure you're contributing the whole thing right now. I'm just providing for you and him until he's out." He watched as Blaine shook his head. "Blaine-"

"You don't understand. It's boring here when you're at work, which you are _a lot_ now. I hardly ever see you anymore and just sitting around the house by myself isn't fun at all. At least at the coffee shop, I can see some of my friends again and make money at the same time."

"You can barely stand still without getting dizzy anymore, honey. Your hormones are outta whack, you're tired all the time, and I don't think you should be working around a bunch of people – it's flu season."

"It's always flu season," Blaine muttered, fisting his hands around his napkin. "Why can't you support me with this? Most other fathers-to-be would be grateful that their significant others were working too."

"And you got this from?"

"I pulled it out of thin air, but seriously, Kurt, I won't be working for long. I'll just go in for a few hours a day, do some baking, maybe make a few coffees for people, and then I'll come home. And Barb said that if I needed to take a break, I was more than welcome to."

Kurt gnawed on his lip, "I don't know."

"If I feel any worse or get sick or anything else along those lines, I'll quit and not work another day until the baby's born, I promise. Just... just let me do this, Kurt. Please? I want to feel like I'm contributing something to this family instead of not doing anything."

Under his breath Kurt again mumbled, _You're carrying the baby. That's a pretty big contribution,_ but he shut his mouth when Blaine glared at him. "Fine. But if you get sick or become too exhausted, I want you to quit... and I won't be scared to go down there myself and tell Barb to fire you."

"Fine." Blaine picked his fork back up and began twirling the pasta onto it. He spun his fork around multiple times, waiting for the inevitable sound of Kurt to begin eating. However, all he heard for several moments was nothing, just complete silence, so he paused and looked up, surprised to find his husband staring at him. "What?"

"You. I'm just thinking about you, that's all."

"Good or bad?" Blaine asked with a brow raise. Kurt chuckled across from him and kicked at his foot beneath the table.

"Always good, sweetie. Always good."

Blaine blushed and looked down at Kurt's words, taking a bite of his pasta. With his head down, he completely missed the concerned look that passed across Kurt's face when the other man rose from the table to refill the pitcher of water.

Despite Blaine's reassurances, Kurt was sure this was a bad idea.

::::::::::

"Mmm, honey, your alarm is going off."

Blaine yawned and stretched, carefully sliding out of Kurt's embrace as he rolled over to shut off the blaring clock. Kurt grumbled next to him and snuggled back down into the warm blankets, Blaine rolling his eyes at him as he kicked his legs over the edge of the bed and shivered when the morning's chill traveled across his body.

"I'm going to take a shower and then grab something to eat. Do you want me to make you a toaster strudel and some coffee?"

"That'd be great," Kurt snuffled into his pillow. "Thanks."

Blaine rose from the bed and padded into the bathroom, trying not to think about how cold his bare feet were getting on the freezing tiled floors. He reached into the shower and turned the water on full blast, slowly shedding his pajamas and then he stopped to stare at himself in the mirror. His belly wasn't as big as he thought it would be, having expected it to just pop out one day, but it hadn't. Kurt still seemed enthralled by it all, occasionally coming up behind his husband to curl around him and cup his hands along Blaine's growing tummy. With thoughts of Kurt and of their growing child, Blaine rubbed his hand over his stomach and then turned to hop into the shower, grateful that the water had heated up fast enough for him to enjoy the warmth instead of freezing like he normally did.

Halfway through his normal routine of shampooing his hair and washing his face, the shower curtain peeled back and Kurt stepped in, naked as a jay bird and smiling when he saw his husband jump at the sight of him.

"Kurt! What are you doing? You don't have to be at work until nine."

"I couldn't sleep," Kurt murmured, pressing his naked body up against Blaine's. "The bed got too cold and Jenny started meowing for food, so I finally just got up. I started the pot of coffee for you," He curled a hand over Blaine's belly. "You can make the strudel though."

Blaine laughed and leaned into his husband, smiling against Kurt's lips when the other man kissed him deeply. The two continued making out as the hot water beat down upon them and Blaine was so swept up in the feeling of Kurt's mouth on his own that he barely even noticed when Kurt's hand left his stomach and went to wrap around his hardening cock. "Kurt-"

"Shh, let me take care of you."

Kurt dropped to his knees and Blaine fell back against the wall, his head thrown back as he moaned. "Kurt, you-" But all thought process flew from him when Kurt moaned around his length. "Oh fuck, I-"

Another moan silenced him completely and no more sound came from him until the second he fell apart, his knees growing weak from his orgasm. Kurt immediately popped up and held him close, kissing his neck as Blaine came down from his high. "You okay, hon?"

"I- fuck, Kurt. I-"

"I'll take that as a yes," Kurt laughed. He waited until Blaine caught his breath before he let go of him and went to grab his shampoo. Next to him, Blaine blinked stupidly against the water falling against his face; his body felt like jello and his legs felt numb - it had been a while since he had had a surprise blowjob sprung onto him in the shower like that. Sighing, he pushed away from the wall and went to grab at Kurt's hips, startled when his husband gently pushed him away. "Nuh uh uh, this was about you today, Mr. Working Man."

Blaine blushed and took the shampoo bottle from Kurt, squirting a small amount into his hands before he began working them through his husband's thick hair. "I thought we always returned the favor."

"Well maybe I didn't need the favor returned," Kurt said simply, leaning back as Blaine directed him beneath the spray to rinse out his soapy hair. The two of them continued their joined shower in silence and when they were both completely cleaned and refreshed, Blaine stepped out into the cold air and pulled his house robe on quickly, throwing a towel over his wet hair before he hopped out of the way so that Kurt could exit the shower as well.

It only took them a little bit to get dressed and completely ready for the day and once Blaine was certain he looked decent enough for his first day back on the job, he made a few toaster pastries for him and Kurt and the two ate in silence, occasionally giving each other fond looks over their breakfast.

"You ready for today?" Kurt asked as he licked a bit of frosting from his thumb. Blaine popped the rest of his strudel into his mouth before he answered.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I feel pretty great right now, so I'm hoping that feeling lasts all day, you know?"

"Well I hope it does too. I hated seeing you so exhausted these last few weeks... but at least the sickness has gone away, yeah?"

"Yeah, thank god." Blaine said, rolling his eyes fondly as he stood up and went to wash his hands. He opened the fridge to grab his already packed lunch and then turned to stare at his husband for a moment. "You don't think this is stupid, do you?"

"What? You going back to work?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah."

"No. I think if this is what you want to do, then you've gotta do it. I just don't want you hurting yourself."

"I promise I'll be careful."

"Well, you'd better." Kurt leaned up as Blaine leaned down to kiss his lips. "Be careful going to work too. It's still dark out and it snowed last night, so walk slow and keep your eyes peeled."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Yes, worrywort." Blaine laughed, "I love you."

"I love you more."

::::::::::

Blaine's first day back at _Rhythm 'n Brews 'n Baked Goods Too_ went pretty well. Originally, he was terrified at the thought of going back to work with a bunch of people he hadn't seen in forever, but the second he stepped in the door of the little shop, he was met with a bunch of hugs and joyous hellos. Barbara, the owner and his former boss, wrapped him up in her arms and then squealed with delight when she saw his growing belly.

"Oh my god, Blaine! Look at you!" She took his hands within her own and tugged him back to the kitchen, hugging him again before she let him go. "I can't even describe to you how much we've missed you. People come in all the time asking where you're at and we've even lost customers because your vegan granola bars weren't in stock anymore-"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I ended up telling a girl a few days ago that I just hired you back and she offered to spread the news, so hopefully our numbers will grow."

Blaine chuckled, "And all of this is over my granola bars?"

"You bet, sweetheart. I picked up all the ingredients you used to use when you worked here last year. I hope I got everything because I was hoping we could put a batch of those bars in front today."

"Can do, Barb. Thanks for having me back."

"Well, it's my pleasure."

With that, Barbara left the room and Blaine went to work, mixing together all the oats, berries, and honey that he needed to make his famous vegan granola bars and within an hour, he had a batch ready to go. When that was all said and done, he went to the front and went to work making coffees for seas of tired, sluggish working folk who stopped in right before their shifts at their high-paying desk jobs. Every time someone came in and ordered, Blaine found himself watching them closely, wondering what they did day after day or if they had any children. A few times he caught some patrons staring at the bulge in the belly area of his work smock and a couple of times, some women asked him about his pregnancy, to which he was able to gush to them about the child he carried.

"Seventeen weeks along? How sweet," one woman, a former regular of his, commented. She cooed over his belly and then left a nice tip in his jar, causing the other baristas to tease him over his luck.

"Perhaps I should get pregnant," one of the college aged girls grumbled playfully, poking Blaine in the arm before she walked to the back to grab more muffins.

Even after the lunch hour toned down and the shop quieted, Blaine found himself wishing he was doing something more than whipping up sweets and making frappes. Even when he was singing a song or two while he was serving, he started thinking about his days at NYADA, singing and dancing and planning on becoming a big Broadway star. But then when the real world kicked in upon his graduation and the roles he tried out for never called back, Blaine realized that life as he thought it was going to be would probably never happen.

Now, as he sat in the workers' lounge, carefully chewing on a panini and slowly rubbing his swollen stomach, he found himself wondering what life would've been like if he _had_ actually gotten a role on Broadway like he once dreamed of getting.

::::::::::

On the other side of the city, Kurt was stuck in a rather unexpected predicament.

Before him sat a tiny little girl, screaming at the top of her lungs, her face as red as her ginger pigtailed hair. Hours before, Chase came running into Kurt's office with the toddler on his hip, his cheeks pale and his eyes wide as he thrust the little girl into Kurt's arms and begged his co-worker to watch his daughter while he went into a meeting with some of the higher-ups at Vogue. Kurt, for this meeting, did not have to attend, so he was the perfect choice to watch little Anastacia - especially since he was going to become a father himself within the next few months.

But as Kurt stared at the tiny wailing girl (_god, her voice was so much bigger than her_), he wondered if maybe this 'becoming a daddy' business was really as cracked up as it seemed to be.

Anastacia was screaming, her hands balled into fists as she wailed and wailed. Kurt ran around her, making silly faces, talking as fast and as high as he could, and he even tried singing, but _nothing_ happened. She just kept on crying.

"Please, Stacia, please stop crying. C'mon, please?" He lifted the baby onto his hip and bounced her around, cringing when her snot slicked fist grabbed onto his shirt. "Oh God." As soon as he groaned, she curled into him, still whining, and wiped her nose right onto his collar. "Oh, I'm going to be sick," he muttered to himself, gently rubbing his hand along her back. Thinking back to the other times he was around children, he started to hum softly, hoping the soothing tones would calm the toddler down.

It didn't.

The baby just bawled louder, causing a few of the passing interns to jump from their spots and stare awkwardly into Kurt's office. With a glare from him, they quickly went back to their work and Kurt bumped his office door closed with his hip, quietly shushing Anastacia as he did so. "C'mon, Stacia, don't cry anymore. Be happy. Be something, just not angry." But the baby kept on.

_I'm not fit to be a parent. Oh my god, this was such a bad idea. What was I thinking? Is this a wake-up call? What is going on? What if my baby is like this? What if I can't calm them down like her? I can't do this._

In the midst of Kurt's meltdown, the door creaked open and in stepped Isabelle's intern, Denise. The young girl smiled sadly at Kurt as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, her bright green eyes softening when she took a look at the sobbing Anastacia. "Is that Chase's little girl?"

"Yes," Kurt huffed, bouncing the baby some more. Her cries increased with each bounce and Kurt was sure his eardrums ruptured.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know! She just won't stop crying! I can't get her to stop!" Kurt was sure he was on the verge of tears and that he probably looked ridiculous with how hysterical he was getting, but his head was pounding and he was getting too hot with this child latched on to him and the more he thought about the tears and snot she left on his brand new Armani shirt, the more disgusted he was with everything right now.

With a sympathetic smile, Denise crept closer to the upset duo and held out her arms, "Might I hold her, sir?"

"If you can get her to stop crying, you can have her."

Denise chuckled and gently took the girl from Kurt's arms. She walked over to Kurt's desk and set the baby down, carefully maneuvering Anastacia's dress so she could check for a wet diaper. Tutting her tongue against her teeth, Denise turned to Kurt and grinned, "She's wet."

"What?"

"She's got a dirty diaper. I bet she wet herself on the way over here and _her daddy didn't even think to mention it to you_," the girl cooed with a bit of baby talk to the already calming little girl. Slowly, the intern moved some of Kurt's items around on his desk before she laid the baby down and went about changing her dirty diaper. All the while, Kurt stood there in the background, his eyes wide and his stomach churning as he watched Isabelle's college-aged intern work some voodoo magic and get the little girl who had been screaming in his ear for over two hours to calm down and giggle at some ridiculous farm animal noises.

_I'm not cut out for this. I can't do this._

Those thoughts would remain in his head all day.

::::::::::

When Kurt got home later that evening, Blaine was already freshly showered and dressed in his pajamas, lazily draped over the sofa as he watched _Jeopardy_ and battled his exhaustion. Upon hearing his husband fight with the lock on the front door, Blaine rolled over and waited until Kurt stepped into the living room, muttering profanities under his breath about their incompetent landlord and the broken doorknob.

"Rough day?" Blaine asked, scooting his body up to make room for Kurt.

"Long day more like it. We were_ swamped_. Isabelle needed me to get things finished for our Fashion Week theme on the website and then there was an emergency meeting and- ugh, it was awful."

"Do you want a backrub? You look like you could use one."

"No," Kurt said as he carefully studied his button-down shirt. "Ugh, this is going to need to be dry-cleaned."

"Something happen?"

"If you can count heathens being released into the offices of Vogue, then yes." Kurt shrugged off his shirt and tossed it onto the armchair, deliberately ignoring Blaine's other questions about what happened or if he was alright. All he really wanted to do was shower and go to bed, but it seemed like Blaine wanted to talk so Kurt half-heartedly listened as he stripped down right there in the living room.

"Guess what I did today?"

"I dunno, Blaine. What did you do?"

Blaine smiled, sitting up and crossing his legs beneath him as he wobbled a bit in excitement. "I went back to my tutoring job today."

"You what?"

"I called up Moses to see if he and the guys needed a tutor and he said they could use someone to teach voice and piano, so I went in and got set up again with all my old students. It's so awesome because they still remembered me and they're excited that I'm back and you know, I'm pretty stoked too!"

"That's nice," Kurt agreed, grabbing up his dirty clothes to toss into the hamper in his bedroom. He shot Blaine a quick good night before he disappeared down the hall to take a quick shower and even as he left, the image of Blaine staring worriedly at him stayed imprinted in the back of his mind.

::::::::::

_"You quit _both _of your jobs?"_

_"I just- I feel like I'm just stuck there, Kurt. You don't understand, you've got Vogue and everything and I just- I thought I'd be someone by now and I'm not."_

_Kurt sunk down onto the mattress and straddled his husband's back, slowly massaging his hands into Blaine's tense shoulders. "You are someone, silly."_

_"I'm an old man who hasn't done anything in his life. Everybody else around me is making something of themselves and then you have me, boring old Blaine Anderson-"_

_"Anderson-Hummel."_

_"_Anderson-Hummel_, who sings as he makes cups of coffee for people or who helps tone-deaf children learn to carry a tune-"_

_"The Blaine Anderson I knew in high school would adore those jobs, you know? Especially the one where he gets to help children who really can't sing."_

_Blaine sighed heavily, "I like being around those kids, but I feel like I should be doing something else. Your job makes twice the amount that both of mine put together even brings in and I feel- I feel-"_

_"You feel what, honey?"_

_"I feel inadequate, like I'm not contributing anything to this marriage."_

_"Bullshit," Kurt hissed as he crept up off of Blaine and flipped him over, staring down at Blaine's watery gaze. "You contribute so much, Blaine. So much, and just because I make a little more money than you doesn't mean anything. I've been at Vogue forever and I'm basically one of the old toads I made fun of way back then when I first started there. You, on the other hand, are just starting out with these jobs and you're winning over the hearts of thousands of people... just like you won over mine."_

_"You really think so?" Blaine asked, blinking slowly as the tears that once gleamed behind his lashes came loose. Kurt gently wiped the tears away, leaning down to press his lips against Blaine's in a soft kiss._

_"I do. I really do. You're amazing, Blaine Devon Anderson-Hummel, and I love you very much."_

_"I love you too."_

_"Good, now no more pity parties. How about we have a little fun instead?"_

_Beneath him, Blaine squealed when Kurt's hands tickled along his waist and Kurt quickly leaned down to silence his giggling husband with a kiss, the two of them wrapped up in the other's loving embrace._

::::::::::

It was nearing midnight when Blaine finally got up from the couch and tip-toed his way into the bedroom. He had been nodding off for the last three hours, but it took him that long to actually get the motivation to get up and go to bed. Yawning, he padded over to the bed and took in Kurt's sleeping form; the way his husband had the blankets kicked down past his feet and how he was sleeping on his back, arms and legs sprawled out far enough that he looked like a slumbering ninja. Snickering, Blaine pulled back the covers from his side of the bed and slipped inside, rolling onto his side to wrap his limbs around Kurt. As soon as he snuggled against his husband he fell fast asleep.

And the next morning, when he woke up and found Kurt sleeping near the edge of the other side of the bed, he really didn't think anything of it, even though Kurt was wide awake and staring blankly at the wall. Blaine had no idea.

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**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. Got a little bit behind in my update schedule, but I hope this makes up for it. Any guesses as to what's gonna happen next? Leave a review, please? I do enjoy them so!**


	13. Chapter 13

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

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_You think I'm pretty without any makeup on..._

Blaine sat at the piano, his fingers tickling the ivories as he waited for his next student to come into the tiny music room. His first pupil left with a kick in his step, excited that he could finally play _Mary Had a Little Lamb_ on the piano and his next pupil, a bright little girl named Annette, would be there soon. Blaine really liked Annette, as she reminded him so much of a miniature girl version of himself - and whenever Blaine thought of her, he wondered if the child he carried would be anything like Miss Annette herself. Still stuck in his thoughts, Blaine didn't hear the door to the music room open, nor did he hear a soft, musical voice bid him hello before they took a seat next to him on the bench.

_You think I'm funny when I tell the punchline wrong..._

"Mr. Blaine?"

A small hand fell onto his own and Blaine instantly quit playing, looking up with startled eyes at the short child seated next to him. The girl grinned cheerily, showing off the gaps in her smile where her baby teeth had fallen out and new ones were growing in.

"Annette! I didn't even hear you come in!"

"You were busy playing, it's alright," Annette said softly. She leaned closer to her teacher and smiled. "What was that anyway?"

"Something that's much too old for such a little girl like you, missy." Blaine teased. He stood up from the bench and went to gather the sheet music for Annette's lesson. When he was completely standing, Annette gasped next to him, a finger darting out to point at the roundness of his midsection.

"Mr. Blaine, you've gotten fat."

Blaine chuckled, placing a hand on his stomach as he shook his head delightfully. "It's not fat, actually. I'm having a baby."

"A baby?! Oh my goodness, Mr. Blaine! A baby!"

The little girl clapped her hands excitedly and bounced up and down on the bench. "What are you having? My aunt Rosalie just had a baby and she named him Charles Lee and he's very, very cute and also my baby cousin and I already love him even though he's so small-" She kept on talking about her new cousin and Blaine just stood there and listened, happy that one of his favorite pupils was so ecstatic about his good news.

Finally, after several minutes of listening to Annette gush about babies, Blaine shushed her and sat down with the sheet music for _Fur Elise_. The two of them worked hard to get the number sounding proper and after Annette's full hour of tutoring ended, the little girl expressed her sadness over having to leave her lesson.

"I know. I had fun today too, Miss Annette, but I will see you at the same time on Thursday, yes?"

"Of course you will, Mr. B!" The girl giggled as she gave him a hug and then ran off to meet with her mother, who Blaine just noticed had been hovering in the doorway for the last several minutes. The woman regarded Blaine with a cool look before her gaze lowered elsewhere, to the swell of his belly, and then she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and led her from the room. Once they were gone, Blaine went about packing up his supplies to get ready to head home. His attention was waning, as he was getting hungry and he knew he would need to take a nap when he got home, but still, the day had been decent and he made some good money in tips at the coffee shop earlier, so he wasn't too disappointed in the work he had done.

In the process of gathering his things, someone knocked on the door. Blaine turned, smiling when he noticed Moses, his friend and the founder of this tutoring group, come walking into the room.

"Hey Mo, what's going on?"

"Do you mind if we sit down?"

The tone of his voice caused Blaine's stomach to flip and his heart rate to speed up; tones like that were never very good in Blaine's experience and he immediately thought of the worst thing possible - _something was wrong with Kurt. _"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked as he sat back down on the piano bench. Moses chose not to sit; instead he leaned against the window pane and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mrs. Lively just came up to me-"

"Annette's mother?"

"Yeah." Moses dropped his head and scuffed his foot against the tiled floors, his lower lip sucked in between his teeth. His dreadlocks fell in front of his face and made it hard for Blaine to even clue in on his expression, but based on the way he was currently carrying himself, something was wrong. "Blaine, Mrs. Lively asked me to- she wants me to transfer Annette to a different teacher."

"She what? But why?" Blaine questioned, one hand moving to rub over his now queasy stomach. Moses lifted his gaze and looked Blaine straight in the eye; he was teary-eyed.

"She said she didn't want Annette to be taught by you. Said something about you being a bad influence. I- I'm sorry, Blaine."

"I'm a bad influence? But why? I didn't even do anything. I-" He froze, the circular motions his hand was making on his belly paused when he realized exactly _what_ Annette's mother was disgusted by: _his pregnancy_. He always knew she wasn't too keen on the fact that he was married to a _man_, but he never ever imagined something like _this_ would happen. "I can't believe this. I-"

"I'm so sorry, Blaine. I told her that if she was going to act like that, then she wasn't welcome here and she could take her daughter elsewhere for lessons. I hope you don't-"

Blaine crossed his arms over his chest tightly, tears steadily running down his face and splashing onto his sweater. "I can't believe she'd do this to Annette. After everything we've done for her and she's- she's going to do this?" He sniffled, "I really liked them too. I thought- I thought Mrs. Lively could look past her differences, but I guess not." Slowly, Blaine stood up and went back to gathering his things, ignoring the sad looks Moses was shooting at him. "I think I'll cancel my lessons for Thursday. Do you- do you mind calling my kids for me? I don't think-"

"It's no problem, Blaine." Moses said sadly, patting his friend on the shoulder before he left the room. As soon as he was gone, Blaine collapsed into himself, curling his arms around his waist as he cried.

He thought he was done with this shit, done with the disgusted looks and the rude remarks, but obviously some people hadn't changed, and because of their bigotry and stupidity, he lost the joy of being able to teach one of his brightest students.

He was heartbroken.

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It was nearing ten o' clock when Kurt walked into the apartment. Jennycat quickly ran up to him at the door, winding unpleasantly between his feet and meowing when he stepped in the hall.

"Jesus Christ, cat! Wait until I get inside before you attack me. God," he hissed, throwing his discarded coat over the rack and kicking off his snow wet boots. Gently, he nudged Jennycat out of his way and walked down the hall, his mind focusing in on the fact that his house was way too quiet to be normal. Something was wrong.

"Kurt?" A soft voice said from within the dark living room as he walked past. Kurt looked up and peered into the pitch black area, flicking the ceiling light on by the switch. There, huddled on the couch, sat Blaine, a blanket wrapped around his body and pulled over his head, his face being the only thing visible. Tear tracks stained his cheeks and he looked utterly miserable.

"What happened to you?"

"I- she said- she-" Blaine stuttered out before he burst into tears. Kurt froze in the doorway, his heart urging him to go to Blaine and hold him, but the rest of him screamed at him to stay away. _Not again. I can't do this to him. I can't._ Not noticing his husband's inner turmoil, Blaine continued sobbing, "She took her away and I can't teach her anymore and it's- it's because I'm gay and- and I hate that. I d-don't understand why people a-are like that s-still."

He continued bawling, tightening the blanket more around himself and Kurt felt his heart crack a little more at the sight. Ignoring the fears lingering within his brain, he walked over to where Blaine sat and took a seat next to him. He wrapped his arms around his husband and tugged him into his grasp, holding his shaking love within his arms as the other man cried.

"It's okay. I'm here. It's alright."

"I don't- I don't know what to do."

"Just calm down, honey. You'll be okay. Take a deep breath for me, okay? Breathe. Close your eyes. It'll be alright." Kurt waited until Blaine's trembling subsided and until his breathing calmed before he released him. "You should get some sleep, Blaine. You'll feel better if you rest."

"Will you come with me? I don't think I want to be alone right now," Blaine whispered, staring up at his husband with red, watery eyes, his long lashes clumped together and wet. Kurt nodded, pushing his negative thoughts away and grabbed at Blaine's hand, helping the younger man to his feet before they both went on their way to the bedroom. As soon as he got Blaine to lay down, Kurt stripped down to his underwear and climbed into the warm blankets, his skin prickling fiercely when Blaine immediately snuggled next to him and the hardness of Blaine's bump pressed into his side.

"I love you," Blaine murmured, his face nestling into Kurt's shoulder. Kurt hummed in agreement, his throat way too tight to repeat the sentiment and he lay completely still, listening as Blaine's breathing evened out. As soon as his husband was asleep, Kurt pried the younger man's limbs from his body and rolled off of the bed and onto the floor, pulling his knees to his chest as he dropped his head down and struggled to breathe.

The negative thoughts that had been plaguing him over the last few days were weighing down on him heavily and at that moment, he didn't know what to do.

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_"Thank god, you were able to watch Stacia for me the other day. I was having the shittiest day possible, Kurt, until I saw you. I hope you don't mind though - I just thought it'd be good practice for you since you and Blaine are expecting."_

_Kurt sipped on his coffee and signed his name on a couple of papers; Chase was sitting in the chair opposite of him, chewing on a double chocolate donut, his phone carefully balanced on his knees as he double tasked texting his husband and eating (and, well, talking to Kurt, but that was triple tasking.)_

_"But seriously, Paul just stuck her on me like I didn't have anything to do! He knew I had that meeting with Isabelle and everybody and instead of hiring our sitter, he just goes to the gym and leaves her at the house with me. And then when I told him about it yesterday, he claimed that I never spend time with her - yeah fucking right. I'm with her a lot and he's just dumb if he thinks I don't spend time with my own daughter, you know?"_

_Chase looked up from his phone and frowned when he noticed Kurt's frozen expression. The stone-faced look on his co-worker's face freaked him out a little and he waved a hand in front of him to see if he could get Kurt's attention. "Hey man, you okay?"_

_"What's it like... being a dad?" Kurt asked, not once looking at Chase._

_The other sighed, "It's the hardest job in the world, I think. A million times harder this all of this," he gestured to the paperwork and the rest of the Vogue offices. "No longer do you come first anymore; they do. Stacia is number one on the list for both me and Paul. We don't really have time to do much anymore - you know, like sleep or have sex or just have quality time together. I bet we'd have more if Paul's parents lived around here or if mine were alive, but since it's just us, we're always with the baby. If I'm working, Paul's got her. If he's working, I've got her."_

_"And the babysitter?"_

_"She comes at least once a week when we both are working, but that costs money and it's not like we have much of that anymore. There's the bills for our things and then there's a completely different pile for her. Like, she's got her pediatrician's bills and we've gotta pay for diapers and food and clothes because she grows like a damn weed, so nothing ever fits her anymore. So, like, if you and Blaine plan on going on any sort of babymoon before the rugrat is born, I suggest you do it soon because you won't have any money once the kid's here-"_

_Kurt's grip tightened around his pen._

_"-and you can forget about having nice things anymore. I can't even count the amount of stuff Stacia's ruined with her messy hands or the things she's broken with her toys. When she started toddling around, she knocked over Paul's great-grandmother's antique Italian vase and shattered it because she fell right into the coffeetable. It was horrifying - and not because of the vase breaking, but because she cracked her head and needed stitches and there went a couple grand down the drain, just like that."_

_As Chase rambled on and on about the cons of being a parent, Kurt felt his stomach ache. He could barely even begin to entertain the thought of becoming a daddy anymore, not after what was occurring in his life right now. All he could imagine was what happened the other day with Anastacia and how he couldn't get her to stop crying and then he had a nightmare about a baby who looked like Blaine who just kept on screaming and puking and ruining his clothes and when he woke up, Blaine was clinging to him like a koala bear and it was like he was being smothered._

_And now, just sitting there in the office listening to someone who had been there tell him about parenthood, it was like Kurt's world had been flipped on its axis again. All the progress he had been through was slowly burning away and doubt was creeping up behind him like a crackling fire growing larger, soon to be big enough to consume him whole._

_He wasn't ever going to be ready for fatherhood. Never ever._

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Blaine awoke slowly, his body feeling like a massive weight had been dropped on top of it. His eyes burned and his lids felt raw, so as he sat up, he rubbed them and waited for his vision to clear. Next to him laid Jennycat, curled up in a tiny, fluffy ball, but other than that, no one else inhabited the bed.

Kurt was gone.

"Kurt? Honey?" Blaine called out as he slid out of the bed and began looking around the house. Everything was completely silent and the only lighting throughout the apartment was the natural soft blue that trickled through the windows from the daylight outside. The clock on the wall in the hallway read 9:52 AM and Blaine frowned, wondering why his alarm hadn't gone off at all since he had to work at eleven that morning. Curiously, he poked his head into the kitchen and rolled his eyes when he spotted a note scrawled on the dry-erase board: _Got called in to work. Won't be home until late. x Kurt_

"Surprise, surprise," Blaine said to himself. He opened the fridge and pulled out a jug of chocolate milk, pouring himself a glass and then he peeled a banana as he settled down to eat breakfast. As he ate, he studied Kurt's scrawl on the board, his heart growing heavy as he read the last sentence of the note.

_Won't be home until late._

It seemed like that's all Kurt did anymore - _work, work, work_ - and Blaine was worried that his poor husband was going to work himself to death. Sighing, he finished off his glass of milk and put the cup into the sink, turning to go get ready for his own job. Deep down inside, he hoped that maybe with him working now, Kurt would finally see that he didn't need to work himself to the bone and would maybe stay home more often.

It was a dream that was for naught.

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Days went by.

February was ticking away and Kurt was spending more and more time away from the apartment. Valentine's Day was a no-go; Kurt had been busy with Fashion Week and couldn't get the time off to celebrate properly with his husband - or so that's what Blaine had been told. Night after night, Kurt came home incredibly late and then went straight to bed, never bothering to wake Blaine up when he got home, so when Blaine got up the next morning and found Kurt's side of the bed empty, it was like he never knew that his husband came home at all.

As for his own work, Blaine was busy, busy, busy, but he was also struggling. His creations in the bakery sold well and he was getting good enough tips, but it seemed that some of the newer employees sort of hated him. One evening, as he went to clock out, he overheard one of the younger guys say, _Why is he so special? The dude's old and he's working in a coffee shop with a bunch of college kids. They must feel sorry for him._ When he heard that, Blaine grabbed up his stuff and rushed home, bursting into tears the second he stepped in the door of his apartment.

Except Kurt wasn't there for him to cry to and when he woke up on the couch the next morning, Kurt wasn't home then either.

So, as much as he hated it, Blaine started to get used to not seeing his husband. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with it all before - Fashion Week was a _huge _deal for Kurt and the rest of the crew at Vogue, but it felt like Kurt was busier than ever. Even though now, Kurt had other priorities in his life other than getting the website up and running and working behind the scenes during multiple fashion shows.

One of those main priorities was Blaine's pregnancy, obviously. As the time flew by, Blaine's belly swelled with their growing child. Blaine was nineteen weeks now, getting closer to that halfway point, and as his body changed, he found himself feeling strange. His last round of hormone shots had been weeks ago and he had an upcoming appointment with Dr. Banes that he knew was going to be a big one, so he hoped Kurt could take some time off to tag along.

It was around the twentieth when Dr. Banes' office called Blaine that afternoon and reminded him of the appointment he was expecting (_If you'd like, we can identify the sex of the baby at this one, Mr. Anderson-Hummel_, the receptionist said during the call and Blaine knew he had to let Kurt know of the appointment date.) And when he was finally able to catch his husband on a rare break and let him know, Kurt promised to be there.

But then that day came and Blaine found himself sitting on the couch, staring at the clock, watching the minutes tick away. He watched as the time Kurt promised to be home passed and not once did the other man call to say he wasn't going to make it. _Not once._

That afternoon, with tears in his eyes, Blaine called the obstetrician's office and told them he'd have to reschedule... because he wasn't going to find out the sex of the baby without his husband, even if that meant his hormone shots would have to be pushed back a few days.

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"How come you didn't call?"

Kurt looked up at the voice that startled him; Blaine was standing there in the hallway, a hand cupped over the top of his distended belly. The other man looked _exhausted_, his stature slumped and his eyes slightly lidded as he stared at Kurt expectantly. For a moment, Kurt felt a pang of guilt shoot through his stomach over Blaine's appearance, but he let the feeling melt away when his gaze fell to his husband's stomach again.

_I can't do this._ "What do you mean? Why was I supposed to call you?"

"We had an appointment today, Kurt! God! You said you were going to go! You said you were going to come and get me and we'd go together! Do you not remember that?!"

"That was today?"

"Yes! Yes, it was today! I even texted you to remind you this morning and you _still_ didn't call me! Why, Kurt? Why didn't you just call?"

Kurt sighed, "I was just swamped at the office today. Isabelle needed some alterations done on the site and I was the only one who could-"

"Chase could've done it! You two have the same job! Why couldn't he have taken over while you were gone?"

"I told you I was busy! I forgot, okay? Sue me!"

Blaine's hands dropped to his sides and he balled them into fists, "You promised to be more involved with this pregnancy, Kurt! I feel like I'm doing this all by myself!"

"Oh my God! Are we really going to fight about this right now?" Kurt grumbled, moving to step past his husband and go into the bedroom. Blaine followed close behind. "I just got home and I'm tired."

"So am I! I'm freaking drained, Kurt! I'm working too and I thought that you would cut back on your hours since I'm bringing some money in too, but instead you're working _more_ and I don't understand _why_!"

Kurt tugged off his shirt and tossed it into the hamper, rolling his eyes as he did so. Behind him, Blaine huffed out a comment about his immature behavior and it was like something within Kurt just _snapped_. "Oh my God, Blaine - fuck off! Seriously. I don't even want to hear that crap about you working. You work in a fucking _coffee shop_. You make _coffee_ for people - something you could easily do here! It's not like it's _rocket science _or anything! Jesus, it's not even like you need a degree to brew a pot of coffee - _not like your NYADA degree would help that anyhow_ - and you're acting like it's the hardest job in the world! Hell, it's barely even a real job! You don't even-" A sob caused him to pause in his rant and he froze, his hands pausing in their motions of pulling off his pants. "I-"

Blaine had a hand pressed to his mouth. Tears were steadily dripping from his cheeks and he was trembling in disgust (but mostly _heartbreak_) over what Kurt had just said to him. "I can't- I can't b-believe you just said that to m-me," he choked out, slowly stepping backward to the bedroom door. Kurt just stood there and stared at him, his once cold blue eyes thawing out as he realized what exactly he just did.

"Blaine-"

But his husband just turned around and ran right out of the bedroom, the banging sound of the door to the study resonating through the house not long after. As soon as he was gone, Kurt plopped down onto the bed and leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands. Down the hall, Blaine slid down onto the floor, rocking himself back and forth as he cried over the awful things that had just spouted from Kurt's mouth.

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**A/N: You didn't think it was gonna be all sunshine and rainbows for long, did you? I am really sorry for the angst though. I've had this planned out for a while now and it's crazy bad in their relationship right now, but I promise it'll get resolved soon (not saying HOW soon though.) Just stay tuned! Also let me know what you thought and thank you all for the reviews of the last chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

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"Sweetheart, are you alright?"

Barbara placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder, her worried gaze falling onto his pale face and the way his lips were pursed ever so slighty as he leaned up against the counter. It had been almost a week since the fight between him and Kurt and ever since then, Blaine had been on edge, tired and upset, and somehow he seemed to have caught a cold that he just couldn't shake. Kurt, on the other hand, seemed fine, going to work on time and coming home late like it was nothing. Neither man had spoken to the other since their blowout and every time they passed without a word in the hallway, Blaine's heart broke a little more at their lack of communication.

"Blaine, did you hear me?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Blaine looked up at his boss and smiled. Barb stared at him skeptically, especially since the look he just tried to pass off on her was much more like a grimace than an actual smile; carefully, she took him by the shoulder and led him to an empty table, guiding him down into a chair with ease.

"I believe you should take a break, hun."

"No, no. I'm fine, Barb. Really, I just- that last guy just finished a cigarette before he came in and it just got to me, I guess."

Barbara raised an eyebrow, but then nodded understandingly. "Oh, I feel ya. I was like that with my first pregnancy too. My husband had the nicest cologne, but when I was pregnant with Elliot, I just couldn't stomach that smell whatsoever. I don't think I've ever seen Walter so scared in his life that night I got sick on him. We were going out to dinner and he sprayed his cologne and-" The older woman launched into a tale about her husband and Blaine closed his eyes, feeling that ever present wave of nausea overcome him as he sat there. To be honest, it didn't seem like the cigarette smoke was the only thing getting to him, but he wasn't going to say anything. It was just a simple cold; he could get through it.

But first he just had to get through the rest of the day.

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Kurt dogeared the pages of an old issue of Vogue and looked back up at the computer, his eyes narrowing when he stared at the front page display of the website. The magazine was celebrating the comeback of the styles of the 1960's and he was in charge of changing around the site to match the upcoming issue, but nothing he did seemed to work right. Then again, he could blame his lack of inspiration on the fact that his mind was somewhere else - on _Blaine_ actually and what his husband was doing at the moment.

There wasn't anything worse in the world than hearing Blaine cry, in Kurt's opinion, but every single night that week, it was all he heard. However, despite the ache he felt in his heart, he couldn't bring himself to stand up and just check on his husband, to just _apologize_. He just sat there and listened... and a few times, he cried as well. Even that very morning, he could hear Blaine gasping for air in the bathroom as he was sick over the toilet and even though he was standing right outside of the closed bathroom door, Kurt couldn't muster the courage to open it and step inside. He just listened... and hated himself a little bit more with each sob.

_Why are you doing this, Kurt? Why are you still hurting him? What is wrong with you?_

Sighing, he shut his laptop and stood up from his seat, stretching his arms up into the air as he walked away from the desk and stepped out into the fray of frantic interns, all of them rushing different piles of photos and fabric swatches to their respective bosses. As he watched, Kurt flashed back to the days when he was a lowly intern, bringing coffees to Isabelle and answering phones all while he juggled his classes at NYADA and lived in a spacious apartment with Rachel and Santana. His first year in New York was a crazy one and the next year was just as wacky, with Blaine joining the chaos by moving into the flat with Kurt and the girls. At the time, Kurt had been ecstatic to be living with his on-again boyfriend and at night, when he curled up next to Blaine in their shared bed, he dreamed of their future together: of their home, their jobs, and their lives.

But it was rare that he dreamed of children. A few times, a baby or two popped up in his dreams, only to disappear in later imagined futures, but that was about it. Kids hadn't really been on his mind, not even after his close friends began having their own. The idea of having kids had sort of been a option back then, when he was younger and vibrant, newly married and ready to take on the world with his husband. But as time sped by, he found himself seeing a different future - one where he and Blaine traveled the world or where Blaine finally got that desired breakout role he deserved on Broadway, one where the two of them had more money than they could ever imagine, living in a penthouse suite in the Upper West Side. Occasionally he and Blaine would discuss these dreams and somehow the idea of a child would creep in and Kurt would imagine the two of them walking through Central Park holding hands with a little pigtailed girl, but that was as far as it went... even though he knew Blaine was thinking of something much more concrete.

Then he would tell himself to give it some time, he'd warm up to having kids later on in life. But later on he'd get stuck in a room with one of Puck's kids and he'd get a headache from all their jabbering. Or like with what happened with Anastacia - he could envision all of his clothing being ruined by dirty little hands and all the hard work he put in over the years to be able to purchase such extravagance would go right down the drain.

However, sometimes he'd think about what his dad said: about how having a baby is a wonderful thing and how being a dad isn't too bad after all. Sure, the things that Chase said contradicted Burt's praises like crazy, but when it came down to it, Kurt respected his father's opinions far more than he respected a guy who he had only known for ten or so years.

_So then why are you doing this?_

Kurt ran a hand through his hair, his mind still racing, and walked into Isabelle's office, shooting her a pathetic half-smile when she waved him in and went back to her phone conversation. As he sat down in the chair opposite of her, he let his mind travel to his childhood and the wonderful days he was able to spend with his mother before she got sick. He remembered all the fun they had together, the way she would let him dress her up and do her makeup, and how much he loved hearing her sing. He remembered the day she died and how his dad finally stepped up after months of grieving, taking over the role of both dad _and_ mom and how Burt dealt with Kurt's silly childhood tea parties and movie nights.

He loved his dad... and his dad loved him, unconditionally. His dad always supported him, always stood by him even though Kurt sometimes knew he tested his dad's limits, but despite the fact that Kurt knew his dad loved him, sometimes he wondered _why_? Burt always told him that he loved him the moment he found out he was coming into the world and Kurt couldn't figure out _how_ that was possible, how his dad could love the mere thought of a child. _A child created from the love of two people_, Burt had said. But Kurt still didn't understand.

Because he mostly felt like he didn't love the child growing in his husband's stomach. Over the last few weeks, during the rekindling of his marriage with Blaine, Kurt thought he was excited for what was happening, but then those same old thoughts of doubt would creep up on him like a thief in the night and he was once again shadowed in fear. Fear that he would never love the child, fear that he would resent the kid for everything he represented: a possible end to all things Kurt once dreamed of. Kurt was _still_ scared of what was going to happen and he was scared of what was happening now, how he and Blaine were drifting apart again.

_Your fault_, his brain supplied and Kurt closed his eyes, mentally trying to squash the creepy feelings that washed over him. _Not creepy, Kurt. Guilty. Very, very guilty._

He sat there, lost in his thoughts, until Isabelle snapped her fingers in front of his face and smiled sadly at him. He stared up at her, his blue eyes swirling with a million different emotions until he blinked them away and plastered the same old mask he had been using since that night he screamed at Blaine and made him cry.

Everything was okay. _Everything wasn't okay _and it felt like it was only going to get worse.

::::::::::

Blaine yawned as he clocked out of work and untied his tight smock. The next shift people began buzzing around him, making coffees for the afternoon rush and as they went to working, Blaine squeezed between them and left the back of the shop, shrugging into his winter coat as he walked. Outside, the sky was a brilliant white with fresh falling snow and a few dozen people came mulling into the shop complaining of the slippery sidewalks and limited visibility.

"Is it really that bad out?" Blaine asked one of his regulars as he leaned against the front window and watched a few passersby shuffle through the slush.

"Eh, it's just bothersome mostly. The snow's really icy and it's windy so when that stuff gets blown in your face, it's kinda like getting smacked in the face by glass."

_Or a slushie_, Blaine mentally added, flashing back to a particular painful moment in his life. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and went to stuff his hands into his gloves. "Well, I've gotta get home somehow. Guess I'll grin and bear it."

"You'll be careful out there, sweetheart. You've got a baby to think about too."

"Oh, don't I know it." Blaine said with a sad smile, making his way over to the door to leave. He was almost halfway out when someone yelled his name.

"Blaine! Hey Blaine!"

Shielding his eyes from the snow, Blaine looked up and furrowed his brows when he spotted Rachel standing there next to a waiting taxi, all bundled up in her signature red coat. "Rachel?"

"C'mon silly. No need to walk to my place when you can take a cab with me!"

_Walk to your place?_ Blaine thought, carefully maneuvering his way through the crowds of people to climb inside the cab after his sister-in-law. "We're going back to your house?" He asked as he settled himself down in the seat and waited for the cab driver to head out.

"Umm, yeah? I invited you and Kurt over for dinner, remember?"

_Kurt didn't say anything about that._ "Oh, oh yeah. I forgot. Sorry... baby brain, you know?"

Rachel grinned and then turned to look at his belly, which was hidden beneath his peacoat. "I understand fully. Okay, well maybe not fully since I've never been pregnant, _but_ I get it. So how are you? I haven't been able to talk to Kurt lately and last I heard from Carole and Burt, you were working again, so I didn't know if I should bother you either and-"

"I'm fine," Blaine lied, letting his hands fall against his belly. "Just tired mostly. Work's, well, _work_ and that's about it." He failed to mention how upset he had been getting lately: with his co-workers and Kurt and just humanity in general. Rachel just nodded and took his answer without question, going on to ramble about her busy days on Broadway and how much she adored everything. As she spoke, Blaine couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy creep up his spine at how _easy_ everything seemed for her. She had a beautiful apartment (with a properly working lock), a job on Broadway, and a supportive husband. She had a lot of what Blaine wanted and just somehow didn't seem to get and it kind of hurt a little bit. Rubbing his stomach, Blaine leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, letting Rachel's storytelling lull him to sleep as the cab slowly made its way through the heavy snowfall to the Hudson's apartment.

::::::::::

"Hey bro," Finn greeted when Rachel and Blaine opened the door and stepped inside the warm, bright entryway. It took Blaine several moments to figure out where he was and how he got there, but when he saw Finn coming in to give him a hug, he realized that sometime between falling asleep in the cab and now, he must have made his way through the building with Rachel. Sighing, he greeted Finn back and hugged his brother-in-law tightly before he took off his coat and allowed his relatives to ooh and aah at his growing stomach. Hands quickly latched on, hoping to feel anything, but Blaine just shook his head.

"I haven't really felt anything yet, so I doubt you'll be able to. Sorry guys."

"You haven't been feeling kicks yet?" Rachel asked, staring down at where her hands lay on his belly. Blaine hummed and she frowned. "Aren't you, like, almost twenty weeks?"

"My doctor said I might not feel anything up until twenty-two weeks actually. She said I could start to feel the baby moving anytime between sixteen and twenty-two, so I'm not too worried. I do hope I get to feel him soon though. I think that's the part I'm most excited about - other than having him, really."

Rachel smiled and took his hand, leading him to the living room to sit him down on their large couch. "Finn and I are going to start on dinner, but you can sit in here and rest if you'd like, since you spent all day working. I'm gonna try to call Kurt and see if he's on his way and then we can eat. But, if you are feeling hungry or anything, just call for me and you can have whatever you want, okay?"

Blaine nodded and offered Rachel a smile, waiting until she got up and left to settle himself down properly onto the thick cushions. He didn't bother to tell her how strange he had been feeling, since he didn't want to worry her, but honestly, at that moment, he felt a little too hot and a bit nauseous. Waiting, he listened for the sounds of Finn and Rachel to start cooking and when he heard them singing to each other as they chopped vegetables, he laid back onto the couch and fell asleep.

::::::::::

Finn poked his head into the living room, eyes focusing on his sleeping brother-in-law as the younger man laid all curled up on the couch. From his position in the doorway, he could see how gaunt Blaine looked, how his face looked pale and sweaty, and how exhausted he seemed. Blaine didn't look healthy, that was for sure, and just seeing him that way worried Finn to no end.

"Hey Rach?"

"Hmm?" Rachel asked as she came up to stand next to her husband. She slid her arms around his waist and peeked her face around his bicep, looking into the living room. "What's wrong?"

"Does Blaine look sick to you?" Finn whispered, careful to not talk too loud just in case he accidentally woke his friend up. Next to him, Rachel sucked in a deep breath.

"You think so too?"

"So you noticed it too?"

"I wasn't going to say anything, but Blaine doesn't look as well as he did a few weeks ago. Remember when they came over for dinner and how good he looked? He just looks... sick right now."

Finn swallowed thickly, rubbing his hand over Rachel's, "I know. I think something's wrong."

"He's probably working too hard. The last time I spoke to Burt, he said Kurt told him that Blaine had taken on both of his old jobs, so he's probably overworking himself. I wish he wouldn't though. He's putting himself and the baby in jeopardy." Shaking her head, Rachel pulled away from her husband and stepped back into the kitchen. "I'm gonna go try to call Kurt again. He didn't answer my last two calls."

"I bet he's in a meeting. He'll be here," Finn added as he shot one last look to his brother-in-law and then followed Rachel. While his wife dialed his brother's phone number, Finn went back to chopping the peppers and onions for their dinner, his mind still plagued with the sight of how ill Blaine looked.

::::::::::

"Blaine? Hey, Blaine?"

A hand shook his shoulder gently and Blaine blinked his bleary eyes open, staring up at the sight of Rachel smiling down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but felt his throat tighten up before he even had the chance.

"You okay?" Rachel asked, her voice soft and genuine. She brushed a bit of his sweaty hair back and studied the way he blinked at her.

"Fine. I'm fine," he croaked out, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes. "Dinner ready?"

"Yeah, Finn's putting the finishing touches on everything. He just wanted me to come in here and wake you. He wants to know if you want chicken on your quesadilla or if you want to go with just veggies like me?"

"Mmm, chicken's fine," Blaine whispered, fighting the urge to curl up as a strange sensation fell over him. His stomach felt awful, a slow cramping-like pain blistered over the lower part of his abdomen and he struggled to not clutch at his belly at the feeling. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

Rachel shook her head and patted his knee, rising from her spot on the couch. "You know where it is, Blaine. I'm gonna go back and tell Finn that you want chicken as well."

"Okay," Blaine said. He waited until Rachel was completely out of the room before he hunched forward with a quiet gasp and rubbed at his stomach. Nothing felt right; his body felt heavy, his head felt like it was filling with air and the pressure was going to pop his eyeballs out, and the worst feeling was within his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up or faint and in that instant, he realized something was terribly wrong.

Swaying, he stood up and stumbled towards the kitchen, one hand cradling the bottom of his stomach and the other pressed tight against the wall as he dragged himself towards help. "Finn? R-Rachel?" He whimpered, his voice so quiet that it was hard for him to even hear in his own ears. Shivering, Blaine pulled his aching body into the doorway of the kitchen, blinking rapidly against the bright lights and the loud sounds coming from the radio and Finn and Rachel's joined voices. "Guys? Ungh, I-"

A low groan sounded from his throat and Finn turned around at the noise, his eyes widening when he saw Blaine standing there. "Blaine?!"

His face was the last thing Blaine saw before he collapsed forward and hit the floor.

::::::::::

"Kurt? Is that your phone?"

Isabelle pointed at the bright light filling up Kurt's messenger bag and Kurt flushed, muttering a few apologies as he hopped out of his seat in the creative director's chair and ran over to shut off his ringing phone. Hissing some curses under his breath, Kurt completely shut his phone off, anger spiking within his veins when he noticed that it was once again _Rachel_ calling about that damn dinner date he wasn't going to attend. He told her days before that he didn't think he'd be able to make it and he never told Blaine, so it wasn't like Finn or Rachel were going to be expecting them. When he was sure that the blasted thing had been shut down completely, he went back to his seat next to Isabelle and flipped through the shots of several different models that were having their photos taken.

Beside him, a photographer was putting a couple of girls into different poses and Isabelle was adding her two cents in over how she thought the girls should be posed. "What do you think, Kurt? Would that look better as the cover for the site? Or should they both be slouched a little more?"

Kurt regarded both girls, staring at their outfits and the ways they were standing. "Probably slouched a little more. The blonde should cradle her chin also; it looks more couture."

"Great. You read my mind," Isabelle laughed, calling out more ideas to the cameraman. While she was preoccupied, Kurt went back to studying the test shots of the models and wondered how they would look against the new scheme he was planning for the website. It wasn't long before a half an hour sped by just like that and as Kurt flicked over the photos and took the shots out that he liked the most, he barely noticed his new intern, Shelly, come running into the warehouse, her form covered in snow and her nose bright red from the cold.

"Mr. Anderson-Hummel! Mr. Anderson-Hummel?!"

Kurt looked up, as did the rest of the crew working around him. Isabelle shot him a confused look and Kurt stood up, two seconds away from berating his intern for being so unprofessional in such an important setting. He was feet away from her when he noticed the look in her eyes (_fear_) and immediately his heart stopped. _Oh God, something was wrong with his dad and he had his phone off. Oh God._

"Mr. Anderson-Hummel, please don't be mad. I came as soon as I could and I tried calling your phone, but you didn't answer!"

"What is it?" Kurt asked quietly, his hand falling to cover his heart. The sounds around him muted and all he could hear was his beating heart as he watched his teary eyed intern stare up at him in fear. "What is it, Shelly?"

"Sir, it's your husband. Something's happened."

* * *

**A/N: Some of you lovely reviewers had this pegged since the last two chapters, so kudos to you guys. I loved reading your feelings on the last chapter and I agree that what's going on with Kurt has been a crazy, crazy ride, but it can happen. I know it seems ridiculous and that someone Kurt's age should be more mature about something like this, but sometimes people can react in the oddest ways over things and Kurt just to happens to be having a hard time with the idea of fatherhood. I bet you're wondering what's going to happen now, yeah? Any ideas? Please leave a review and thank you all for reviewing the last chapter. I love reading what you thought!**


	15. Chapter 15

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

_"Finn! Is he breathing? Please tell me he's breathing!"_

_Rachel was sobbing, one hand holding Finn's phone to her ear and the other pressed against her chest as she struggled to breathe. Finn was currently seated on the floor, his head on Blaine's chest as he listened to his brother-in-law take a slow raspy breath. He couldn't bear to look at Blaine's head, at the goose egg that was swelling on the side of it, nor did he want to look at Blaine's arm, which he was sure was dislocated or broken; instead, he went to see if Blaine was even breathing, which he was, and for that, Finn was truly thankful._

_"He's breathing, Rach, but it's weak."_

_"He h-hit his head. Oh my god, he hit his head." Rachel fell to her knees next to Blaine's prone body and placed her free hand on his belly. "Oh my god, the baby. Oh no no no no no."_

_Finn stared at his wife's hand on Blaine's swollen stomach and he swallowed heavily, brushing his hand along Blaine's hairline where a nasty bump had formed. "Blaine? Blaine, can you hear me? If you can hear me, open your eyes or something or squeeze Rachel's hand, please? C'mon man." He looked over at Blaine's arm and hissed when he saw the way it laid on the ground; with the way Blaine had fallen, he hit his right side quite hard and the impact of his fall mostly went to his shoulder and the side of his head. He most likely had a concussion and possibly a broken arm - and that probably wasn't even the worst of it, though Finn hoped and prayed that was all that was wrong._

_Mostly, he hoped that the baby wasn't affected by the fall and that it was alright because he didn't know how Blaine would handle it if he lost it now. Not with how excited he was over the pregnancy. Wiping away a few tears that he didn't know he was crying, Finn glanced up at Rachel and saw her frantically dialing on her phone. "Did the hospital-"_

_"The ambulance is on its way. I'm still on the line with them, but I can't get Kurt to answer any of my calls. He won't pick up, Finn! He won't answer!"_

_"Give me your phone," Finn said, grabbing the device from Rachel as he too began calling Kurt over and over again. For several minutes he called Kurt's cell and his work phone, but didn't get an answer on either one. He was about to call again when Rachel, who he hadn't noticed left his side, came in with two paramedics. They quickly dropped to the floor next to Blaine and began checking his vitals and while they were doing so, Finn stood up and took his crying wife into his arms, shushing her sobs as he watched helplessly as the paramedics did what they could to help his brother-in-law._

_As soon as they had Blaine strapped onto the gurney, Finn let go of Rachel and grabbed their phones, pushing his wife out of the door so she could go with Blaine while he made sure everything in the kitchen was off before he followed in a taxi. During the ride to the hospital, he tried his hardest to call Kurt on both his and Rachel's phones and when he failed to get an answer on either of them, he used Blaine's phone to emergency call Vogue's main office, thanking god when someone picked up and took his message to give to Kurt's intern. After that was all said and done, he began calling their family: Burt and Carole and Cooper. He had just hung up after talking to a frantic Cooper when he arrived at the hospital and he all but threw the cab fare at the driver before he ran inside the building and up to the front desk to see if he could find Blaine or Rachel._

_An elderly woman was ahead of him at the desk, asking about the whereabouts of her husband, and Finn crossed his arms over his chest, his heart still beating at a cheetah's running pace as he wondered about Blaine and his potential niece or nephew's well being. Closing his eyes, he prayed everything would be okay._

_He didn't want anything to happen to the baby Blaine was carrying, not when he just found out about it and just had the time to get excited about the whole idea. He was so ready to be an uncle, so ready to have someone in his life to spoil and if something were to happen to take that all away, he didn't know what he'd do. He was terrified._

_"Please be okay."_

::::::::::

Kurt practically fell out of the cab, dashing into the hospital as fast as he could, almost running over a handful of people in the process. He looked around the main entrance, his eyes falling onto every person he could spot, and then he saw him: _Finn_, standing there, leaning against a vending machine, his eyes closed and looking like he had aged several years within the span of a few hours.

"Finn?! Finn, where is he?"

"Oh my god, where have you been?" Finn hissed, wrapping a hand around Kurt's bicep to tug him towards a line of elevators. The doors to the middle set opened and Finn pulled Kurt inside, his heavily bagged eyes settling on his brother, sadness and exhaustion written all over his face. "Rachel and I tried to call you forever and you never answered."

"M-My phone was off," Kurt whispered. His eyes stared straight ahead at the closed elevator doors and he felt like he was going to throw up the more the lift moved. Finn's hand stayed curled around his arm, anchoring him there in his spot, and when Kurt was finally able to pull his gaze away from the doors, he found his brother staring down at him.

"We called for over an hour, Kurt. An _hour_ and we couldn't get a hold of you. Rachel's up there flipping her shit because she can't find out anything and you didn't answer your phone-"

"Stop it, Finn!" Kurt yelled as he yanked his arm back and pressed himself against the wall, his arms going to wrap tightly around his waist. "I know what happened, okay? I shut my phone off and something happened with Blaine and no one could let me know what happened! I _get_ it and I feel like shit right now, okay? So don't you dare start flipping out on me now!"

Finn's gaze softened. "Bro, I'm sorry. I just- I'm shaken up by all this. Just seeing Blaine like that and- not being able to get a hold of you- it just- things got really crazy real fast and I don't mean to take it out on you, I'm just- I'm just scared." The elevator dinged quietly and the doors opened. Kurt shot his brother a sad look before he stormed out of the elevator and went to the front desk of the ward without a second glance at the man following behind him. As soon as he skidded to a stop in front of the desk, a kind faced nurse glanced up at him and smiled.

"May I help you?"

"My name is Kurt Anderson-Hummel. I- my husband, Blaine, was brought here about an hour ago. I need to see him, please?" The nurse nodded and went to look at a chart of patients, her finger scanning through the list as she looked for Blaine's name. Behind Kurt, Rachel came running and took his hand, smiling sadly at him when she caught his eye.

"I'm so glad you're here."

"Ahh, a Blaine Anderson-Hummel, correct?" The nurse asked. When Kurt nodded, she handed him a visitor's pass and paged someone to the desk. Before Kurt had the chance to rush off to Blaine's room, a tall man with round-rimmed glasses stepped into his line of sight.

"You must be Blaine's husband? Hello, I'm Dr. Marten. I'm the doctor in charge of your husband's care at the moment until his primary physician can take over. Follow me please?" The two men walked down a hall, the doctor skimming over the clipboard in his hands. He paused outside of a room and looked up at Kurt with a gentle smile. "Your husband was rushed here this evening with an abnormally high fever and raised blood pressure. According to his sister-in-law, Blaine fainted and hit his head and arm on the kitchen floor. Luckily, at the angle at which he fell, not too much damage was done to his stomach-"

"The baby?"

"As of right now, the baby seems fine. We have Blaine hooked up to a monitor right now and the fetus' heart rate is a little low, but we are keeping a close eye on his progress. Now-"

"Wait, _his_? Do you mean Blaine or-"

"Your son, Mr. Anderson-Hummel... oh, I-"

Kurt's hand fell above his heart as he breathed out slowly. _A son. _They were having a little boy and he didn't even know. Then again, he wasn't sure if Blaine knew because they missed their last appointment, but- _oh my god_. "We're having a boy?"

"Yes. My apologies, sir. I thought you knew. I hope I didn't ruin any surprises."

"No. No, you didn't. I just- I- how is Blaine? Is he okay?"

The doctor looked back down at his chart and shook his head slowly. "Your husband is going to need a lot of rest over the next few weeks. According to the paperwork his ob/gyn's office faxed over, he missed a few important hormone replacement shots in regards to his pregnancy and the lack of vital hormones in his body caused him to suffer a few minor setbacks."

"As in?"

"If your husband hadn't of fainted due to his BP and went the next few days without his hormone injections, he might have lost the baby. Now, I don't mean to scare you, but I must also stress that the likelihood that his collapsing might also cause miscarriage due to the trauma of the fall. From the ultrasound we performed on him when he was originally brought in, everything looks okay with the baby and the placenta wasn't dislodged or bruised from the fall, but it's all up to Blaine's body to get well and not reject the pregnancy. Do you understand, Mr. Anderson-Hummel?"

Kurt stared at the door, his throat tightening as he scratched at his Adam's apple. "So he could still lose the baby?" _No no no no no. Of all the things to happen._

"It _is_ a possibility. We're hoping that we were able to give him the hormones fast enough to reverse the process, but with the fever Blaine is running right now, it's only a matter of time before we'll be able to tell what will happen. I have high hopes that the fetus will survive, but sometimes nature changes its course. As of right now, Blaine is resting and doing well. We gave him his hormone injections per his obstetrician's orders and we set his arm-"

"What?"

"When he fell, he landed on his right side and dislocated his shoulder. We were able to put the shoulder back into place and we're monitoring his blood pressure and fever right now. So far, the fever has dropped slightly, but his BP remains a little bit on the high side, so we're going to keep a close eye on that. Also, your husband has a knot on his head from the fall and we've concluded that he may have a mild concussion; it's nothing to worry too much over, but it's not something to ignore. We're going to keep Blaine under our watch for the next few days to be on the safe side and his obstetrician will be here in the morning to check in on the baby."

"C-Can I see him now?" Kurt asked, his stomach still churning with nausea over the things he was just told. The doctor nodded and opened the door to the small room, allowing Kurt to step in before he followed to replace the chart at the foot of the bed. Inside the room, machines whirred and beeped, the noises causing a shiver to run down Kurt's spine. He looked around and let his eyes fall onto the bed in the middle of the room where Blaine lay. His husband's right arm was in a sling and right above his eye was a bump, about the size of a goose egg. Machines and wires were hooked up all around him, coming from his arms and stomach; two different heart monitors were going - one for Blaine and one for the baby (their _son_, Kurt's mind added) and when he looked down at the swell in the midsection of the blankets that covered his husband, Kurt felt an immense amount of guilt burn at his skin, the flames licking against his flesh as he stared at his unconscious husband. "Oh my god, Blaine-" he breathed.

The physician behind him said something about giving him some time alone and left the room, leaving Kurt there with the man he had obviously hurt terribly. Upon a closer look, Kurt could see how frail Blaine seemed - how pale his skin was, how there were now dark circles under his eyes, and how sickly he looked. The man looked _off _for days now and not once had Kurt stopped to check on him and now where was he? In the hospital, incredibly sick and _hurt_ and there was a slight possibility that he was going to lose the baby.

_Their son_.

Kurt sat down in the chair next to the bed and took Blaine's IVed hand gently within his own. He stared at the taped down tubes that came out of his husband's hand and when he noticed the blood that must've slipped from the veins as they were tubing him, he started crying.

He never felt more disgusted with himself in his entire life than he felt at that very moment.

::::::::::

Cooper couldn't breathe.

The minute his phone rang and he found out his little brother was in the hospital, Cooper had packed a bag and hopped a plane to get to him. And now there he was, standing in the waiting room with Kurt's brother and sister-in-law, all three of them waiting to hear from Kurt about what was wrong with Blaine. According to Finn, Kurt had disappeared behind the main doors hours ago and just never came back - and to all of them, it didn't look good.

Upon hearing that Blaine was hurt, there was no doubt in Cooper's mind that his brother-in-law had something to do with it. When Finn called and told him that Blaine had collapsed in their kitchen and they couldn't get a hold of Kurt, Cooper wished he had the power to teleport to Vogue and just murder his brother's husband. There was so much reluctance to leave Blaine alone with that man after what happened months ago even though Christmas seemed to be a turning point for Kurt, but Cooper wasn't stupid (or as love blind as his baby brother was) and he knew Kurt was gonna hurt Blaine again.

However, he _never_ imagined that it would lead up to Blaine being in the hospital and the jeopardization of the life of Cooper's future niece or nephew.

"I fucking hate Kurt Hummel," Cooper hissed under his breath as he stepped outside to calm himself down and for once, he didn't give a flying fuck if anyone (Kurt's family or not) heard him.

::::::::::

"How is he?"

Kurt looked up at the group of people that crowded around him and crossed his arms over his chest. Finn and Rachel were watching him wearily and Cooper just looked pissed, blue eyes burning like mad as he glared down at Kurt. It had been almost five hours since Blaine's admittance to the hospital and the whole gang was still there, with the addition of Blaine's big brother; all of them wanting to find out the news about Blaine and the baby's current conditions. Sighing, Kurt ran a hand down his face and told them. "He's resting. H-He dislocated his shoulder and they're monitoring the baby right now to make sure he's okay."

"He?" Cooper asked, his angry eyes instantly softening and turning glossy.

Kurt nodded and whispered, "We're having a boy," and Rachel pulled him into her arms, grinning. When Kurt pulled back, he caught Cooper's eye again and he frowned. "The doctor said that Blaine's going to need to stay here for a few days. He missed his last hormone injection and it caused his body to shut down basically, so he needs to rest. They gave him the hormone shots and now we're just playing the waiting game."

"And the baby?"

"Dr. Banes is going to come in the morning and assess everything. Dr. Marten said Blaine's fall could've been a lot more dangerous had he not favored his right side but right now, the baby is okay. His heart rate's a little low, but they're watching it. They think he'll be just fine though."

"Thank God."

Finn and Rachel seemed to take the news well, locking hands and stepping away for a moment to have some time to themselves. When they were out of earshot, Cooper leaned in towards his brother-in-law and spoke low, his voice dangerous. "I don't know what happened between you two, Kurt, but you look guilty as hell right now and if Blaine wakes up and tells me you caused this, it won't be pretty, you got me?"

Kurt stared up at Cooper, his face tired and emotionless. "He's going to be okay, Cooper," he said, shrugging Cooper away from him as he turned and went back down the hall and into the ward where Blaine stayed. As soon as he was out of Cooper's sight, the older man muttered a few curses and dropped down into a seat, his head in his hands as he struggled to get his wildly beating heart to calm before he did something stupid.

::::::::::

_Mercedes sat down on the couch and took the bowl of caramel corn out of Kurt's hands. "Sorry that took so long. My mom wanted to talk about something."_

_"I didn't get you in trouble, did I?" Kurt asked hesitantly, lowering his head so his bangs covered his eyes. Mercedes rolled her eyes and laughed, patting her best friend's hand with her own._

_"No, it wasn't about you, Kurt. She was just asking me if the rumors about Quinn Fabray were true. That's all."_

_"She knows Quinn?"_

_The girl sighed, shifting her body to allow it to sink deeper into the couch's plush cushions. Once she was comfortable enough, she kicked her legs out and let them rest on Kurt's. "She mostly knows what I've told her about her and some of the other glee kids. I guess she overheard Santana and Brittany talking when she came to pick me up for my optometrist appointment the other day and she wanted to know if Quinn's really pregnant or not."_

_"And you told her?"_

_"Of course, I did! Then she asked me about us and I laughed at her-"_

_Kurt instantly paled, "You didn't tell her I'm-"_

_"No, but I think she knows. No offense," Mercedes quickly added, rubbing Kurt's kneecap with her socked foot. "But, she just told me to be safe and that if I ever had any questions about sex to come to her about it. She also mentioned something about saving myself until marriage, but I already thought about that so-"_

_Kurt rolled his eyes and stole the popcorn bowl back, shoving a handful into his mouth. "Does she know about Quinn living with Puck now?"_

_"I mentioned it. I mean, she got kicked out of her parents house and is living with the Puckermans. I can't even imagine my parents kicking me out like that, but then again, I can't imagine being a pregnant teenager either."_

_Kurt laughed, even though it seemed kind of rude to do so, considering Quinn's predicament, but when he thought about himself being a pregnant teenager, it just brought on the giggles. Next to him, Mercedes kicked at his thigh with her feet, her own mouth pursed in order to stifle her laughter._

_"Shush yourself, Kurt Hummel. I bet Quinn's having a rough time right now. I can't imagine being in her shoes and having all that stress thrown at me. It can't be good for the baby."_

_"But don't you ever think she got herself into this mess? She's the one who cheated on Finn Hudson of all people with the biggest juvenile delinquent to ever grace Lima, Ohio... and now she's pregnant and homeless. I can't help but see some sort of karma there."_

_"You know I don't condone cheating and you know how I feel about Noah Puckerman," Mercedes said bitterly, flashing back to the ill-fated fling they had a few days ago. "But Quinn is a nice girl and I just can't imagine being in her shoes right now."_

_"And you know she's nice how? You two don't talk."_

_"We've talked plenty and that's that, okay? I just feel sorry for her. Pregnancy has to be rough and to have to deal with all that baby daddy drama and getting kicked out, not too mention the fall from grace she experienced at school with Sue and everybody else - I just worry about her some."_

_Kurt nodded thoughtfully, linking his hands over his stomach as he slouched into the couch. "You care too much sometimes, Cedes."_

_"Maybe I do, but pregnant women and their unborn babies don't deserve that much stress, I know that much. When I have babies in the future, after I record a few platinum selling albums and win a few Grammys, of course-" She smiled, grinning brighter when Kurt agreed with her, "I hope to have an easy pregnancy. My cousin Erica lost a baby not long after she got laid off at her job and that was rough. It's hard being stressed out and trying to be healthy. Can you imagine trying to be healthy enough for yourself _and_ a baby?"_

_"Not really. I can't have kids. I'm a guy, remember?"_

_"Kurt!"_

_"Okay, yeah yeah whatever. I guess I can see what you're talking about."_

_"Good. I'm glad. Someday you'll remember this conversation when you and whatever lucky man you happen to marry end up getting a surrogate to carry your baby and you'll remember how you laughed at Quinn Fabray and you'll feel bad because you'll want your baby's birth mother to be completely healthy for your child."_

_Kurt scoffed, "Okay okay. I'll quit joking about this. God, Cedes. Eat some more caramel corn before you chew my head off." Beside him, Mercedes chuckled and took the bowl back._

_"I'm just sayin'... I think I'm done talking about babies and Quinn Fabray right now though. You wanna watch a movie?"_

_"Nothing with babies!" Kurt said, choking back his laughter when Mercedes threw a pillow in his face. "I'm sorry! The opportunity presented itself and I took it!"_

_"Sometimes you are so insufferable, Kurt Hummel," Mercedes teased as she stood up and went to pick out a movie. Kurt stretched himself out on the couch and once Mercedes was preoccupied with picking a DVD, he swooned at the thought of someday having a husband to spend the rest of his life with, someone to talk about possibly having kids with or getting a cat or dog with._

_And later that night, after the credits to _Pretty in Pink_ rolled, and Mercedes was dead sleep on her side of the couch, Kurt allowed himself to dream about maybe having a future - marriage, babies, the whole enchilada - with someone who creepily enough looked like Finn Hudson._

::::::::::

Kurt ran his hand up and down Blaine's stiff arm, his fingers slowly running along the length of visible blue-green veins that showed through his pale skin. He had given up on falling asleep hours ago, having been startled awake by a flashback sort of dream that took him back to when he was a young, gullible teenager giggling about the unfortunate mistakes of Quinn Fabray with his old best friend Mercedes. It had been years - a _decade plus -_ since that conversation and he and Mercedes had been long since married, her to Sam and him to Blaine, and Cedes had a child of her own now, a little girl named Whitney (after her idol, obviously) but the words they said so many years ago still haunted him, especially right now.

Looking at Blaine, seeing the sickly way his husband looked laying there in a bed much too big for his tiny frame, seeing the tubes and wires stuck to him to make sure Blaine and his unborn child were doing well... it was a lot to take in. Kurt had spent the last several hours glued to his husband's side, his heart aching over what he had done. Just the day before, he had bypassed Blaine as the younger man retched into the toilet and cried, and not once did he stop to see if he was alright. And now there he sat, in an uncomfortable chair next to a bed of beeping, buzzing machines that were set up to tell him if his husband and unborn son were even okay, if they were even _alive_.

Years ago - hell, maybe even yesterday - he might have brushed off Blaine's injuries as nothing bad, but as he sat in that uncomfortable chair and held his husband's too warm hand within his own, he felt so, so guilty.

Blaine's blood pressure had been up, stress induced most likely, and he was sick because he cancelled an important appointment that Kurt was foolish enough to ignore. It wasn't like Kurt had forgotten that day; he _hadn't_. The whole day he watched his clock, watched as the time he promised Blaine to be at the apartment flew by, and even after he clocked out, he thought about Blaine's appointment. When he went out for cocktails with Chase and some of the other Vogue workers, his mind stayed on Blaine and what the other man was doing at that moment. Even after Kurt stumbled into the apartment, slightly tipsy and exhausted... even after he saw Blaine staring back at him, cradling his stomach and clearly looking hurt... even after all of that, Kurt lied through his teeth and then ended up saying some awful, _terrible_ things, even though _he _was the one who ruined everything.

Sniffling, Kurt wiped away some tears with the back of his hand and laid his head down on the bed next to Blaine's blanketed thigh. He snuggled as close as he could to his husband's hand and kissed Blaine's fingertips, breathing in the scent of Blaine's hand lotion and the unusual smell of hospital antiseptic. Above him, Blaine's breath stuttered in and out of his chest, raspy and soft, and with each breath, the machines around him kept going. Tears leaked from Kurt's eyes as he closed them and mumbled his sorries into the calloused flesh of Blaine's fingers.

He could only hope his husband could hear him and one day forgive him.

* * *

**A/N: Long author's note ahead! ****This chapter probably sucks because I am not a doctor, nor do I really like dealing with them. Not because doctors aren't good people, but mostly because I am a huge wimp and prefer to stick my illnesses out instead of seeing a physician. Also, I've never been pregnant, so that's a problem too lol. Anyway, if you see any glaring mistakes with Blaine's injuries or anything pertaining to the baby, just let me know. I really don't have any experience with anything medical and the only experience I have with a dislocated shoulder was when I fell while walking to school one snowy morning and I jacked up my shoulder really bad. I grabbed it, jammed it up and to the right (it was my left shoulder) and that was that; I'm pretty sure it was dislocated, but hey, not a doctor - what do I know? Then for the rest of the week, it was crazy uncomfortable and now, ten years later, I still can't ride roller coasters and put my arms in the air because my left arm just goes BOOM and it gets yanked backward so quick and it feels like it's going to be yanked from my body and I always have to maneuver it back into place afterwards. That's weird, isn't it? And I have no idea what that means lol. I'm rambling though. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing the last one. Lemme know what you thought of this one or what you think will happen! Also, the Kurtcedes flashback is from S1 and sometime before _Theatricality_ and after _Laryngitis_. Also, I probably shouldn't have listened to Solange's song _Losing You_ because it gave me all the Klaine feels for this fic (then again, so did Burt's line about grandchildren in the last episode - all the tears!) Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

"Good morning!"

Kurt sat up, rubbing his hand along his aching neck as he blinked his eyes sleepily at the woman standing at the foot of Blaine's bed. The pink-garbed nurse was scribbling a few notes on the clipboard she held, dropping it into the slot at the foot of the bed before she turned back to Kurt and offered him a sweet smile.

"Would you like me to have someone bring you a reclining chair? I don't know why they didn't do it yesterday; they knew there was a longterm patient in this room and yet they left a plain old chair in here. I'm so sorry about that," the young woman rambled, pausing in her rant to stare at the baby's heart monitor before she looked back at Kurt. "I was just coming in here to check on Mr. Anderson-Hummel's vitals this morning and to see if he was awake in time for breakfast. Obviously, he's still recuperating and he needs all the rest he can get after the night he had, but... would you like me to take a food order for you? I was going to get an order for him, but seeing as he's still asleep, would you-"

"I'm not hungry," Kurt said softly, staring down at his husband and at the way Blaine's lips looked so painfully dry, now obviously noticeable in the brightly sunlit room. The nurse noticed the way Kurt's eyes squinted from the morning's rays and she quickly pulled the curtains shut, dimming the room considerably. With a quick glance over Blaine's vitals again, the woman bid Kurt a quiet goodbye, but not before she slid a copy of the hospital's cafeteria menu towards him. Kurt regarded the menu with a dismissive look and set it on the side table, cradling Blaine's wired hand within his own once the nurse had left the room. When it was just the two of them once more, Kurt kissed the tape covered flesh of Blaine's hand and laid his head back down on the edge of the bed, closing his eyes reluctantly as his fitiful sleep overtook him once more.

::::::::::

_Hurts._

Blaine groaned softly, trying his hardest to maneuver his body into a better position than the one he was laying in when he noticed that he, in fact, could not move as well as he usually could. Grimacing, he tried to turn to the side and ended up hissing when a throbbing flash of pain ripped through his right shoulder. "Ungh, oww," he whimpered, feeling tears well up behind his closed eyes as he went back to lying completely still. Next to him, someone mumbled something and Blaine was quick to pinpoint whose voice it was: _Kurt_. It had been so long since he last heard his husband's voice, so long since Kurt had even been _that_ close to him, and immediately, Blaine blinked open his tired eyes, flinching when the light filled his sight and he instantly grew nauseous. "Kurt-" He moaned, cocking his head closer to his husband, who he found to be leaning against the bed, fast asleep.

Kurt didn't stir, his nose twitching in his sleep, and Blaine fought back the urge to cry out at the tightness he felt growing through his torso.

"Kurt, please-" He pleaded, closing his eyes to stop everything from spinning. He wiggled the fingers on his left hand and jerked his arm to press against his churning belly, whining when the sudden movement caused a sharp burn to tear up his hand. Nothing felt right; something wet trickled down fingers, he could smell antiseptic and the coppery scent of blood, and his entire lower half, especially his hips, just ached something awful. Choking back a sob, Blaine cupped his belly and blinked his eyes open once more, the sick feeling in his belly growing worse as the lights and other various colors spun around him. "Puh-"

He coughed, his back arching slightly as he choked on something thick in his throat and the next thing he knew, something was shrilly beeping next to him. Kurt's voice joined the loud beeps and Blaine closed his eyes again, just hoping and praying for the pain to subside.

_It hurts. Make it stop. Please make it stop._

::::::::::

"He's seizing!" A voice shouted as a rush of nurses burst into the room. Kurt was tugged backwards, away from his shaking husband, helplessly watching as Blaine's body thrashed around on the bed and blood poured from his hand where he had accidentally ripped the IV out. Kurt had only just woken up and lifted his head when the door flew open and the pink-dressed nurse from earlier came running in, calling for help when she took one look at Blaine's condition. Kurt barely had the time to see for himself what was going on before he was pushed away, but now that he was standing near the door, he could see where Blaine had thrown up on himself and where blood stained his arm and the stomach area of his dressing gown and blankets.

"Oh God-"

"Sir, please come with me," a younger man, obviously still in his residency, asked, gently leading Kurt out of the room that still buzzing with commotion.

"My husband- I can't-"

"It's best if you wait out here, sir. Let the doctors check on your husband and when everything's okay, you can go right back in there."

Kurt brought his hand to his lips and nodded, watching as the resident disappeared back behind the door and left him alone in the hall. Tears ran down his face and splattered on his shirt and when Kurt glanced down, he realized that Blaine's blood was also on his hand and the cuff of his sleeve. "Oh God-" The walls closed in on him and he swayed heavily on his feet, blinking as he felt his breathing freeze. _I can't breathe._

_I can't breathe!_ A passing nurse jogged up to him and had him sit on the floor, her soft voice gently trying to soothe his frantic nerves as he struggled to breathe in and out. He looked up at her, his eyes staring into hers and his heart stopped when he saw thick black eyelashes lacing bright hazel eyes. _So much like Blaine's. Oh God._

The nurse called for help when Kurt fainted against her shoulder.

::::::::::

"_Kurt_?"

"No, bud, it's Burt. How ya feelin'?"

Blaine turned his head towards the warmth he felt against his cheek and when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see his father-in-law standing next to his bed, staring down at him with green eyes filled with worry. The older man smiled in relief when Blaine stared up at him and with a soft chuckle, Burt patted his son-in-law's stubbly cheek. "Get some rest, kiddo. You've had a hard couple of days."

"Where am I?" Blaine whispered, trying his hardest to look around the room. The last thing he remembered fully was leaving work and going home for dinner at Rachel's - everything after that was blank. Yawning, he went to raise his hand to cover his mouth and froze when another hand covered his own.

"Don't move too fast, honey. You'll pull your IV out again."

Carole was standing next to Burt, a sad smile on her face and Blaine blinked at her, shock registering all over his body when he noticed the plain, dull white that surrounded them and the way the room smelled like disinfectant.

_He was in the hospital._

"Carole?" He whimpered, voice growing thick with tears as his tired eyes flickered back and forth around the room. Fear prickled up from the bottoms of his feet to the tips of his ears and suddenly he felt like a child: scared and alone. "The baby? Is he-"

"He's fine, Blaine. A little tired from the last few days, but fine."

_The last few days?_ Struggling to swim through the fog that had become his mind, Blaine closed his eyes and sucked his lower lip into his mouth; nervousness spread through his veins like fire and suddenly, he was terrified. "What happened?" He cried, not even bothering to stop the onslaught of tears that were leaking from his closed eyes. A smooth, sweet smelling (_the comforting scent of roses_, he noticed) hand began wiping away the wetness from his cheeks and he pressed against Carole's palm. "Mom-"

"You've been sick, sweetheart. You went to Finn and Rachel's the other night and got very sick, so they brought you here. The next morning, you had a seizure because of your fever and you've been asleep for the last day or so; your body's went through a lot, Blaine. You just need to rest and you'll be back to normal before you know it." As soon as she was through explaining what happened, Blaine began sobbing, ignoring the throb of his hand as he cradled his fingers over his swollen stomach. Beside him, someone sniffed and he was sure they were crying too, but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes and look.

He felt _dead_; his body felt like it was out of gas, like it was full of lead, and like moving was its greatest chore. The longer he laid there, the more he could feel the things that changed around him. For one, there were things attached _everywhere_ on him: on his chest, on his arms, on his head, and especially on his belly. Around him, things were humming and occasionally scratching, making barely noticeable beeps as he breathed in and out and when he thought more about the machines that were hooked up to him, the more curious and scared he got. "You said the b-baby's okay?"

"He's doing fine. Your doctor came yesterday to check on you after what happened and his vitals are fine. He's a strong little fella, that's for sure," Burt commented and the more he talked, the more Blaine's sleepy brain locked onto the _male_ related pronouns and descriptions.

"It's a boy?" He asked, opening his watery eyes to look at his in-laws, gauging their faces for reactions. When he saw both of them smile sweetly at him, he broke down again, his bruised, taped up hand running against the length of his bump. Carole laid her hand on top of his fingertips and squeezed it gently, smiling at him when he locked eyes with her.

"You two gave us quite a scare, but you're both going to be fine. You need to rest, that's a given, but in due time, you and that sweet little baby will be ready to go home."

Blaine stared at her, his vision slowly clearing as the tears dried up, and when Carole and Burt shared a significant look towards each other, he closed his eyes and tried to remember the events of the last few days. Memories of going to Rachel's and feeling _awful _came bouncing back, followed by a vague memory of opening his eyes to see Kurt sleeping beside him before he felt nothing but _pain_ and then absolutely nothing at all. Opening his eyes, he looked around the room again and frowned when he realized that he, Burt, and Carole were the only ones there.

"Where's-"

"Kurt went home. I made Finn take him back to get some rest because he was worrying himself sick and it wasn't doing him any good to be here. So, he's being watched by Finn until he sleeps and then he'll be here later on. Cooper's here right now though, if you want to see him."

Blaine looked over at the door, feeling terrified at the thought of his brother (his brother, who was probably going to say _I told you so_ when he saw him) coming in and seeing him like this. Somewhere in the hospital sat a brooding Cooper Anderson and the more Blaine thought about it, the more disappointed in _himself_ that he felt. "Can I see him?" He asked softly, going to move his right arm, only to notice how it was strapped to his side in a blue sling. "Oh-"

"When you fell, you hit your head and dislocated your shoulder. You won't be able to move it for a while, but it'll be good as new soon; don't you fret."

Gnawing on his lip, Blaine again asked Burt if he could see Cooper and reluctantly, the two grandparents-to-be gave him hugs and kisses before they left to fetch the eldest Anderson brother. They had only been gone for two minutes (Blaine counted) when Cooper slipped into the room and smiled sadly at his bedridden little brother.

At the sight of Cooper and his ridiculously bad attempt at a smile, Blaine's lower lip shuddered and he broke down, sobbing against his big brother's chest when Cooper wrapped an arm around him and cradled him close. "Coop-"

"No, don't cry, B. I'm here. I'm here; it'll be alright." Blaine shivered in his brother's embrace and moved his hand from his stomach to grasp at Cooper's shirt, pulling the older man closer as he cried.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't you dare apologize for anything, B. None of this is your fault. It's his. It's all his." Rubbing his hand along Blaine's spine in a circular motion, Cooper continued whispering his disgust with Kurt into Blaine's hair. The angry remarks that spewed from his mouth were not only to soothe Blaine, but to keep Cooper from leaving the hospital to kill his brother-in-law. "It's not your fault. It's his. _It's his._"

::::::::::

The first thing Kurt noted when he woke up was how warm he was. Blinking his sleepy eyes open, Kurt fixed his eyes on the tiny, tanned skinned woman who was sitting next to him on the bed, a book cracked open in front of her as she hummed to herself.

"Rachel?"

"Oh, you're awake! Finn! He's awake!"

A voice yelled something jumbled back and Rachel huffed, rolling her eyes as she hopped off of the bed and disappeared from the room for a moment. Her loud voice traveled down the hall as she yelled at Finn over something Kurt didn't understand. Yawning, he sat up in the bed and pushed away the mounds of blankets that covered him. It was obvious he was in the guest room at the Hudson residence, as he was the one who helped Rachel decorate the damn room, but as he studied the dark cherry wood bedroom set, a wave of worry splashed over him.

_Blaine._ "Rachel?! Finn?!"

The couple skidded to a halt in the doorway and Finn squeezed past Rachel to run closer to Kurt, "What? Are you okay? Do you need some water?"

"No... why am I here? Why am I not at the hospital with Blaine?"

Rachel shook her head, climbing back onto the bed with her friend. "You freaked out and fainted yesterday, remember? Then after you got up, you had a cow and spent all night curled up next to Blaine as he slept... and then your dad showed up and demanded we take you home to rest so we brought you back here."

"But what if Blaine's-"

"Ahh, he's doing okay right now. He woke up about two hours ago and-"

Kurt leapt from the bed, "He's _awake_ and no one thought to get me up?! I need to see him! C'mon, let's go!" Rachel reached out to grab his elbow, but Kurt dodged her grasp and ran past Finn to go put on his shoes and coat. His friends ran out behind him, both of them calling out things to get him to slow down for a moment before he fled the apartment, but Kurt paid them no mind and tugged on his boots anyway. As he laced the last bit of his first boot, his eye caught on the oufit he was wearing - which happened to be the exact same thing he had worn the day before. He stared down at his sleeve, which was still stained with the blood that gushed out of Blaine's injured hand, and when he saw the dark brown stain on his arm, he paled.

"Kurt! Kurt, look at me!" Rachel commanded, snapping her fingers in her brother-in-law's face until he looked up at her. She began talking to him in rapid fire, pulling his attention as Finn went about unbuttoning Kurt's shirt and pulling it away from him. Once he had the bloody garment removed, he shoved a clean shirt in his brother's hands.

"Wear that."

Kurt looked down at the plain red t-shirt that he had been handed, ignoring the flashbacks of their _Don't Stop Believin'_ early days of show choir, and pulled it over his head without care. Running a hand through his messy locks, he rose from his seat on the floor and went to pull his coat on, turning to look at his friends when he had the coat fully buttoned. "We have to go. I need to see him."

"I'll go with him," Rachel muttered quietly to Finn, pecking a kiss to his cheek before she locked arms with Kurt and dragged him out of the apartment. As soon as Finn closed the door behind them, Rachel squeezed closer to her best friend and sighed. "Your dad said Blaine was in shock over what happened. He still doesn't remember much other than coming to our place for dinner. I imagine he'll remember other things later on though once he's more awake."

"He's probably scared that he woke up in a hospital. He really doesn't like them."

"Hospitals?" Rachel asked, holding the door open for Kurt as they stepped out of the apartment building and into the cold, wintry city streets. Beside her, Kurt crossed an arm over his chest and dashed to the edge of the curb, his other hand raised to signal a cab. Rachel waited until they flagged a cabbie down and got inside before she went back to asking him about Blaine's aversion to hospitals.

"I think Blaine's been in the hospital more than anyone I know... well, other than my dad. Most of the time Blaine's ever been in the hospital, it's been because he was hurt by somebody else and- well, he just freaks out whenever he has to be in one."

Rachel nodded thoughtfully, "I remember when he cut his hand washing dishes that summer before junior year. You were so scared! And _Santana! _My god! I thought she would've been the strong one, but one look at that gash and she turned so white! Blaine did keep it all together until we got to the emergency room though; he was a lot more calm than all of us."

"I think it's because he's used to stuff like that," Kurt sadly remarked, turning his gaze to look out of the window as the cab blew through the snow to get to the hospital. "He hates being there, but he's so used to it that he just deals with it, you know? ...I hate that."

"Me too."

Rachel grabbed Kurt's hand within her own, firmly squeezing it in reassurance. He looked over at her and offered her the slightest smile before he scooted closer to her and laid his cheek against the top of her head. "Thanks for taking care of him, by the way. I really appreciate it."

"He's family. Of course I'm going to take care of him. He's got this precious little baby on the way and he needs to be looked after. I'm just glad that he was with us when it happened. I'd hate to think of him falling on his way home or at the apartment before you got home from work."

Her comment wasn't rude or biting, but as soon as she said it, Kurt froze, guilt riding heavy on his shoulders as his mind traveled to other situations in which Blaine could've collapsed: _falling over on a busy, snowy street blocks away from the apartment... fainting and cracking his head on the coffee table at home..._ in every situation, he was alone. As Kurt's eyes watered, he turned and kissed the top of Rachel's hair in thanks, truly grateful that she had been there for his husband in the one way he wasn't.

When he thought about that, he hated himself a little more.

::::::::::

Cooper flipped through the pages of a worn out _Parenting_ magazine, one ear trained on Blaine as he lamely skimmed through articles on childbirth and breastfeeding. His brother had dozed off not long after his meltdown a little over an hour ago and even though he was fast asleep, he kept on making the most uncomfortable noises in his sleep, soft whimpery little grunts and groans as his body struggled to get comfortable. From his spot leaning against the windowsill, Cooper could see the dark bruises that formed on the right side of Blaine's head and on his left hand. He had been shocked to see the bump on Blaine's scalp and when he heard about Blaine's seizure the day before, he felt sick to his stomach. His little brother had been through so much in his lifetime and over the last few months alone, it was like someone was out to get him.

His husband wasn't manning up, his body wasn't cooperating, his poor unborn baby was getting stressed out, and poor Blaine himself was two milliseconds away from losing his mind.

Cooper could see it plain as day written all over his face. Blaine was suffering, breaking apart piece by piece, and every single time something happened and he put himself back together again, there were still cracks in the foundation, only getting worse with each pounding his emotions were taking. Kurt had been distant, the guilt etched in his facial features (that seemed to only get guiltier when Cooper was around) was telling, and Coop didn't have to even ask Blaine what Kurt had been doing since he left NYC and went back to Providence.

Kurt wasn't doing _anything_ for his husband and their unborn child... and that pissed Cooper off more than anything else.

Another muffled moan slipped from Blaine's mouth as he twitched his upper lip and turned his head to the left. With his neck stretched and the soft light from overhead reflecting down on him, Coop could see where a faint bruise had formed on Blaine's cheekbone from the fall. "God, Blaine," he whispered, flipping the magazine closed and setting it down on the chair next to him. He walked over to his brother and brushed his fingers along the darkening skin, a frown growing deep on his face. "This is bullshit."

Blaine whined again and went to roll onto his side, gasping when he bumped his bruised hand against the mattress. His eyes popped open and he slowly brought his hand up to press against his chest, "Ugh oww."

"You okay?" Cooper asked as he placed his hand on Blaine's forearm and rubbed it.

"Everything hurts," Blaine whimpered, looking up at his brother with bright, wet eyes. He blinked slowly and the tears that had collected behind his lashes trickled down his cheeks. "I hate this."

"I know you do," Coop soothed, reaching up to brush the wetness away from his brother's chin. "You'll only have to be here for a few more days at the most and then hopefully you can go home. They just want to make sure you and the baby are okay."

"I know. I just- I hate hospitals. I hate being here. I wish I never got sick."

Blaine closed his eyes again and went silent. Cooper watched him for a moment, but then decided to calm his brother down by raking his fingers through Blaine's curly hair. He hummed low in his throat, a song he used to sing to Blaine way back in the day when his little bro wasn't feeling up to par. Halfway through his song, Blaine sobbed and Cooper stopped, hand pausing in its motions when the choked off noise sounded from Blaine's throat. "B-"

"I- I can't go back with him, Coop." Blaine cried, curling his hand around Cooper's wrist. "I can't."

"You don't have to."

"I just- I love h-him so much, but he d-doesn't love m-me a-anymore."

"Blaine-"

"Why d-doesn't h-he love m-me?" Blaine wept, tugging Cooper closer to him. With his one good hand, Blaine held his brother tightly against him, crying against the collar of Cooper's shirt. The older Anderson brother bit his lip and wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulders, careful to not nudge the relocated, healing one. He held Blaine close to his chest and leaned his cheek against the curly mop of Blaine's hair.

"It'll be okay, bub. You can come back to Providence with me and we'll figure something out when my lease runs out in May, okay?" He shushed Blaine's loud sobs, rubbing his hand up and down the curve of Blaine's spine as the other man bawled against him. "I promise. I'll go get your things and we'll leave once you get out of here. You won't have to deal with him again, okay? I've got you."

Blaine quieted after a few moments, trembling slightly in Cooper's arms. "I still l-love him. I love him more than anything."

"I know you do."

"I just wish he didn't hate me so much."

"I don't think he hates you," Cooper whispered as he pulled away and laid Blaine back down against the pillows. "Kurt's an egotistical piece of shit and as much as I want to rearrange his fucking face right now, I do... I do believe he loves you. He's just incredibly stupid about it." He looked down and bit his lip when he noticed Blaine's hand rubbing circles around his rounded belly. "You shouldn't worry about him."

"He's my husband. Of course I'm going to worry about him."

Cooper rolled his eyes, but patted his brother's hand gently. "Do you want me to tell him you're coming back to Rhode Island with me?"

Blaine cupped his stomach and sighed, "You just said you have to move out in May. It wouldn't make sense for me to just move all of my things from my apartment to a place that you're gonna have to leave soon anyway."

"Well then what do you want to do? Move back to Ohio with mom and dad?"

"I haven't talked to them in _years_, Coop. Obviously that won't work."

"Duh, I know that. _I was there for that fight, remember?_" Cooper teased, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He hooked his fingers around Blaine's blanketed ankle and tugged gently. "If you don't want to move to Providence, then what do you want to do? You can't stay with Kurt, you just said that yourself, and I am forbidding you to go back with him after this stunt."

"Cooper-"

"No. We'll figure something out. Even if I have to dip in my savings and rent an apartment here in New York for you, we'll-" He paused, looking up at Blaine with a spark of interest in his eyes. "Oh my God, squirt, I have the greatest idea!"

"Please don't call me that-"

"I'm going to rent an apartment here in New York! I've got enough money saved up to get something, so you wouldn't have to move far _and_ I'm almost done with filming so I can break my lease or see if I can get someone to take over the place like I did! Then I can move here and be with you when you have the kid!" He smiled, obviously pleased with himself. "I come up with the greatest ideas!"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I don't want you to have to pull money out of your savings just to appease me. I can figure something out."

"Bullshit. I like this idea, so we're gonna do it... unless you don't want to be in the same city with _him_ anymore, 'cause if that's the case, we can definitely look elsewhere. Not too far though; you're sick enough as it is and I'm not going to try to deal with a trip across the country until _after_ the little tyke's born."

"You mean like Los Angeles?"

"It was my home for years, Blainey, and I'll always have a soft spot for it. I'll bet you'd like it too. Plus when Chip's old enough-" He ignored Blaine's quiet huff over him calling the baby _Chip_. "-we can put the little dude in commercials or something. It'll be great."

Blaine smiled, slightly dumbfounded by his stupid brother's antics, but warmed at the thought of Cooper's caring. "You're dumb, Coop, but I love you."

"I love you too, little bro." Cooper said, ruffling his hand through Blaine's hair. "Why don't you get some rest? You look like you're about to fall asleep on me anyway."

"I'm just really tired."

"You had a _seizure_ yesterday. You're gonna be tired for a while, bub. Go to sleep."

"Yes, _father_." Blaine joked as he closed his eyes, his hand going back to rub gentle circles along his growing belly. Cooper scoffed at his comment, but smiled nonetheless. Several minutes later, when Blaine's breathing finally evened out and the hand on his stomach stilled, Coop smoothed the younger man's hair away from his forehead and then left the room, coming to a halt as soon as he closed the door and found himself face to face with Kurt and Rachel.

"Cooper-"

"Blaine's asleep."

"I was just going to sit with him," Kurt commented, trying to squeeze his way past the taller man and towards the door.

"_Well_, at the moment, he needs his rest _and_ I want to talk to you, so you're gonna turn around and Rachel's gonna go sit with your parents while you and I go grab a coffee in the cafeteria and share a few words."

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but quickly slammed it shut when Cooper shot her a dark look and Kurt shook his head at her. "Fine. But I don't want to be down there too long," Kurt added, turning on his heel as he shoved his hands back into the pockets of his coat. Rachel followed close behind and Cooper trailed the two, waiting until Rach went to sit with the Hummels in the family area before he fell into step with his brother-in-law.

"I suggest you get a large coffee, Kurt. We may be down there a while."

"But I just said-"

"A _large_ coffee," Cooper repeated, his voice low and monotone. "I'm just suggesting."

They stepped into an empty elevator and Cooper pressed the button to the floor that would take them to the hospital cafeteria. As soon as the elevator began moving, Kurt's stomach twisted up into a dozen knots and he leaned back against the wall, eyes downcast. Beside him, Cooper was breathing quite loudly, through his nose in and out, and when the elevator stopped and both men went to step out, Kurt exited first, almost having a heart attack when Cooper said from behind him, after muttering something about not being able to take it anymore:

"Blaine's leaving you."

* * *

**A/N: It's about time, yeah? Or at least a bunch of you guys thought so after the last chapter. I was planning on having Blaine go back with Cooper after the whole ordeal anyway, so to see you all commenting so passionately about it made me smile. I'm glad you guys feel the same way! Anyway, I noticed that Blaine sleeps a lot in this fic (poor guy) - I think it's because the most experience I've had with pregnancy has been when my mom was pregnant with my sister and she spent most of her pregnancy otherwise cursing her all-pregnancy-long morning/afternoon/evening sickness and/or sleeping. Other pregnant people I've been around (which, honestly, has been rare) were sick a lot too, so that's what I'm going by mostly, _but_ Blaine won't be sleeping as much in the future chapters as he has been. He has a baby to prepare for! Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

"W-What?"

"As soon as Blaine's well, he's coming to stay with me until the baby's born... or longer, whatever he wants to do. We talked about it and he's not comfortable living with you anymore."

"B-But-"

"He still loves you a lot, okay? But this shit has gone on for too long. I even told you before I left after New Years that if you hurt him again, I wasn't going to hesitate to drag him back to Rhode Island with me and you know what? You did. You hurt him. And you know - maybe you're having a hard time with this potential parenting thing, but shoving all your issues onto Blaine or just downright ignoring him like you have been isn't doing him any favors!" Cooper balled his hands into fists, "I fucking trusted you, you know? I thought you had changed and then I get that awful fucking phone call that Blaine fell over in Rachel's kitchen and there could be something wrong with my nephew and I knew- I _knew_ that I needed to come get Blaine myself."

Kurt pressed back against the wall, his weak knees too jittery to hold him up any longer as Cooper berated him in the slightly busy hallway. People were staring, but Kurt was too far gone to care, his body plopping down to the floor with a thud as he felt his quick beating heart in his throat. His brother-in-law stared down at him with blazing blue eyes and Kurt couldn't even bring himself to look back; it hurt _that _much. "I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling his knees to his chest as he dropped his head into his arms. Shame swept over him like a wave, beating down upon him endlessly as Cooper continued to chew him out.

"Sorry doesn't cut it this time, Kurt. I don't care if you build a fucking monument for my brother that says how sorry you are; as soon as he's well, he's coming back with me so he doesn't have to deal with your bullshit any longer."

Cooper turned around and marched right down the hall towards the cafeteria, leaving Kurt alone to suffer with his thoughts about the things Blaine's older brother just said to him. A long time ago, Kurt might have fought back, yelled back at Cooper for what the man just said to him, but at that moment, with the guilt weighing upon his shoulders so heavily, Kurt couldn't do anything but fall apart... and agree with everything Cooper Anderson said.

::::::::::

Blaine opened his eyes to darkness and shadows, his room dimly lit by the moonlight and the lights on the monitors. He wasn't sure how long he slept, though he felt a lot better now than he had earlier. Yawning, he craned his head to the right, careful not to bump his temple against anything, and frowned when he noticed a shadowy figure sitting in the chair closest to the window. From what he could see, the person was a male, broad shouldered and lean, with dark hair. When he made a soft noise in the back of his throat, the person turned to look at him and immediately Blaine knew that it was his husband who was sitting there looking out of the window.

"Kurt?"

"Cooper told me," Kurt said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper and sad sounding. Blaine's heart dropped at his tone and he clutched his hospital gown, blinking back the stinging feeling behind his eyelids.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I caused this."

"I didn't want it to be this way," Blaine whispered, his hand releasing its hold on his clothing to grab the remote for the bed. He held the button down to incline the bed so he could sit up properly and once he was fully seated, he patted the area near his feet. "Can we talk?"

Kurt nodded and rose from the chair, slowly making his way towards the bed as if he was scared to be close to Blaine anymore. He paused for a moment before he took a seat next to Blaine's crossed legs. Hesitantly, he held out his hand and Blaine took it with his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I still love you," Blaine admitted, watching as Kurt's thumb carefully rubbed over his knuckles. "I want to make things work, you know I do. But- But I can't do this on my own. I just- these last few weeks have been hell for me, Kurt. I thought you and I were going to be okay, but it feels like I'm still the only one excited about this-"

Kurt opened his mouth to say something, but Blaine squeezed his hand again.

"Please, just- Kurt, I love you more than anything in this world. I really do, but I also love this baby too. I know I can't make you want this and I know you've tried, but you're not ready for a baby, I can see that now. At first I thought it was just jitters, but the last week or so, you've been so distant with me and I can't deal with it anymore-"

"Blaine-"

Blaine sniffled. He wished he could use his right arm so he could wipe away the tears that were speedily making their way down his cheeks and dribbling off of his chin. Shuddering, he looked up at Kurt and focused on how different his husband looked in the moonlight. Kurt's striking, high cheekbones and upturned nose looked so angelic in the soft blue light and just staring at him, knowing what was going to happen with them made Blaine ache to the core. "You deserve to be happy too, you know? This- what we are right now... it's not making you happy and it's not doing me any favors either... which is- which is why I have to go."

"I can't lose you," Kurt cried, his face scrunching up as he began to sob. Blaine leaned forward as much as he could and leaned his head into the crook of Kurt's neck, breathing in his scent as his husband dropped his hand and wrapped his arms around him. "I don't want this to ruin us."

"I think it already has."

Kurt froze against him. His fingers, clinched so tightly into the fabric of Blaine's hospital gown, loosened and let go as Kurt pulled away.

"Kurt-"

"So this is it then? You've given up on us-"

"How can you say that?" Blaine whimpered, reaching out to grab Kurt's wrist. He held onto his husband's arm, trying his hardest to keep the other man there with him, but Kurt was still trying to flee, twisting his arm back and forth to get Blaine to release him. "You gave up on us a long time ago!"

Kurt didn't say anything else. He just shook his arm once and Blaine let go in order to not jerk out his IV again. As soon as Kurt was free from Blaine's grasp, he stood up and walked across the room to grab his coat, his back shaking as he cried.

"Kurt, please-"

"What's the point? We're done, aren't we?" The other man hissed bitterly, shrugging his coat on over his shoulders. He turned towards the door and shot one last look at Blaine before he left. "I'm sorry. I love you," he said softly, opening the door and leaving as fast as he could, not waiting to hear if Blaine said anything else.

Once the door shut, Blaine sobbed, dropping his head into his hand as he bawled. Kurt was gone, albeit forever, and nothing was ever going to be the same.

::::::::::

Carole shook her head, her sad eyes focused in on her stepson as he sat on his bed carefully folding articles of clothing to put into an open trunk. He had been in his bedroom for hours, stone-faced and deathly quiet, meticulously folding his husband's clothing in preparation for Blaine's big move across the city and no one in the family could get him to talk, let alone change his facial expression from the blank slate it had become.

It had been several days since Blaine's admittance to the hospital, a week since Burt and Carole frantically hopped on a plane to support their son and son-in-law, only to come in and find out everything was - _had _fallen apart. They had only been in town for a day when things caved in completely, when Blaine told Cooper he needed time away from Kurt, and then everything exploded into chaos. Burt was the one who opened the door that awful night when Kurt walked in, crying and stuttering that it was over, and when the young man collapsed into his father's arms, it was like Carole was shot back into the past, viewing her husband cradling and calming his little boy.

Ever since then, Kurt was lost. It was as if his whole world had ended that night in the hospital and even though Carole knew that Blaine was okay, if someone else took a look at Kurt right now, they'd probably think Blaine had died or something - Kurt was _that_ miserable. Frowning, the woman stepped away from the door and ran smack dab into her tall, bumbling son; Finn peered down at her, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders before he kissed the top of her head.

"Still nothing?"

"Not a word."

"I just feel bad for him. He looks so... _dead_."

Carole nodded sadly and walked away from the room and Finn, stepping into the kitchen to find Burt leaning against the counter, a bottle of beer in one hand.

"Burt-"

"How am I supposed to help my son, Carole? What am I supposed to do right now? I can't even- there's no way for me to get through to him. I've tried and he's just- he's broken, Carole." The man took a swig of his beer and then hastily rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. "I hate seeing him like this."

"I know you do," Carole murmured as she walked up to her husband and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. "The main thing we can do right now is just be here for him, I guess."

"I don't want to leave him alone. I can't. I just- I know Kurt's a strong boy, but this- this is a whole new level for him."

"I know."

The couple stood there in the silence, Burt occasionally sniffing as he struggled to hide his heartbreak and keep it all together. Carole ran her hand up and down his back, her mind racing as she wondered how they could help their son with his problems. There really wasn't anything she could think of other than to try to help him... or at least get him some help. The man was crumbling in front of them and they needed to think of something quick before he completely fell apart before their very eyes.

::::::::::

"Is that the last of them?" Finn asked as he hefted a heavy trunk up off of the floor and began dragging it towards the bedroom door. Below him, Kurt nodded wordlessly and went back to staring at a framed picture of him and Blaine that was mounted on the wall. It was a photo of them on their wedding day: Blaine smiling brightly into the camera as Kurt smirked happily next to him. Finn remembered when that photo was taken - probably because he was the one who accidentally snapped it and it had quickly become the favorite out of the bunch of candids taken that day. Just staring at it made Finn's heart ache and deep down, he wondered if Kurt was going to get rid of the photo now that he and Blaine were through.

"Hey Kurt?" He asked, carefully setting the trunk down on the floor. When his brother didn't answer, Finn walked over and took a seat next to him on the bed. "Did you really not want the baby?"

Kurt's eyes flickered for a moment, giving Finn a glimpse inside his brother's heavy thoughts - he looked crushed at the question - and Finn felt bad for having asked it. "I don't know," the man answered honestly, his voice steady, yet plain. Finn nodded and looked back at the wedding photo, his heart aching for his brother.

"Aren't you going to fight this?"

"What's there to fight?"

Finn looked at the happy couple in the photo and felt his whole body burn with anger over the fact that it was ending like _this_. "Everything! God, Kurt! Blaine- he's just- you're letting him walk away from you _just like that_ and I don't understand how! You used to fight so hard for what you wanted and- is this- is this not what you wanted? Are you not fighting this because of the baby?"

Kurt was dead silent next to him, but when Finn went to look at his brother's face, he could see the tears pooling behind Kurt's eyelashes and the way Kurt's lower lip trembled.

"Kurt-"

"Nobody else knows what I'm going through right now. They- They think I want this to happen, like I want Blaine to leave and the truth is... I don't. I don't want him to go. I want him here with me, but then I- I see him and I see h-his stomach and it's so concrete. There's a baby in there and it'll be here in July and it's like I want to run away from it, but running away means I'm running from Blaine too."

Finn stayed silent, eyes focused on Kurt as his brother began to let it all out after days of suffering in silence.

"I l-love Blaine more than anything in this world. When we were younger, I knew he was the one for me... e-even after he ch-cheated on me and b-broke my heart, I still loved him. When we got married, it was the happiest day of my life and I m-made these plans for us. I wanted us to go places and be successful a-and, do you know how hard it is to watch the person you l-love the most not succeed?"

"Kurt-"

"Blaine tried so hard! He auditioned and worked his ass off and those fucking jerks passed him by so many times and I don't know _why_. Do you know how many nights I'd come home and he'd be crying in here, so upset because yet another person was picked for a role instead of him? There were so many nights I would fear coming home to... to something _awful_-"

"You mean like-"

Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and hunched forward, the tears dripping off of the end of his nose and onto his pants. "Blaine would never- he wouldn't even- b-but sometimes at night, those nights that he'd cry, it was like I was losing him, Finn, and- and I wanted him to succeed. But then he got that job as a tutor and started at the coffee shop and he was happy and I loved that he was, but we weren't making enough to get by on, so I started taking more hours at Vogue and I started auditioning for shows too and then when I started getting roles, Blaine went right back to giving up again-"

The man paused to wipe at his nose with his fist and Finn stood up, disappearing to the bathroom for a minute before he came back with some toilet paper. "Here."

"Thanks," Kurt said softly as he wiped his eyes and blew his nose. "I just- I had these plans for us, We were both working so hard and we didn't have time for each other anymore and Blaine was slipping away from me, so for our anniversary I planned for us to go to Paris for a while just to get away but it got put off because Blaine got sick and- and then we found out about the baby."

"But Blaine is actually excited about the baby... why does that make you so upset?"

Kurt stared down at the crumpled up tissues that sat in a pile next to his leg, "Blaine and I- we're completely different people, Finn. Blaine does well with kids; I don't. I just- over Christmas, just seeing Blaine and being around him again after what happened, I missed him so much. I thought I was ready for everything, but then things happened and god, I'm so scared. Finn, I- I don't have what it takes to be a father. I'm selfish and snobby and conceited and-"

"You're an awesome guy, Kurt. You're forgiving and kind and funny and incredibly smart. I can't even believe you feel that terrible about yourself, man. You'd be an awesome dad; you shouldn't sell yourself short. Plus, you were raised by Burt - the most awesome dads of all dads! I mean, I didn't get to know my dad, but compared to other fathers, Burt's the best and it's _his_ blood that's running through your veins, Kurt. You'd be just as awesome as he is, I'm sure."

Kurt shook his head in disbelief, bringing another tissue up to dab at his eyes. "You're an idiot. I can never be as wonderful as my dad is. I don't love like he does."

"Yes you do. The Hummels love _hard_, Kurt. You love Blaine like your dad loves my mom. Eventually, once you get to know your baby, I'm sure you'll love him as much as your dad loves you."

"You don't know this."

Finn sighed, "You're right. I don't. But neither do you. You're giving up before it's even began, Kurt. You quit the race halfway through - and if we want to be technical here, I'd say you gave up before it even started. You're the one bringing yourself down, man. All of your good qualities are being overshadowed by your doubts and it's making you look bad, but in all honesty, you're one of the most special guys I've ever been able to know, Kurt, and I'm not just saying that because we're brothers."

Kurt looked up at Finn, teary eyes red and swollen, and he half-smiled, leaning in when Finn pulled him into his arms with a strong bear hug. As they embraced, a sniffling Burt and silently weeping Carole watched on from the doorway, both of them beaming with pride over their sons. When Kurt finally pulled away and caught his parents watching him and Finn, he stood up and went to hug them too.

"I'm scared," he whispered against his dad's chest, choking back a sob when Burt held him tighter.

"We're gonna help you, bud. Don't you worry. Everything will be okay. Everything will be just fine."

::::::::::

Cooper ran through the apartment, arms waving through the air as he skidded across the tiled kitchen floor and stopped in front of a quiet Blaine. "This apartment is _amazing_! I'm so jealous you get to live here while I'm gone!"

"You'll be back in a few weeks, Coop. It's not that long," Blaine mumbled as he trailed his hand over his stomach. Ever since he had been released from the hospital, he just felt _off_ - not the sickly kind of _off_, but just _off_ in general, like something vital had been taken from him and he was left with a piece of him missing.

_Kurt_.

The night that Kurt left the hospital, Blaine felt like a part of him died. Sure, he still had a perfect little baby growing inside of him that was obviously very much Kurt's, but just knowing that Kurt was going to be gone for good (not being technical), made Blaine feel incredibly lost and alone. Sighing, he ran his fingers over his belly button before he dropped his hand to his side and looked up at Cooper. His older brother was watching him carefully, blue eyes calculating what the various expressions on his face could mean.

"I really think it's a bad idea for me to leave you here while I go back to Providence. Why can't you come back with me and then we'll move in here when we get back?"

"I don't want to chance the travel," Blaine grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I just got out of the hospital and I'm _tired_, Coop. I just want to get everything unpacked and ready and then I want to sleep for a week and not be bothered. Is that too much to ask?"

"Yeah well, when your in-laws and the movers finally get here, we can get crackin' on that moving junk. But until then, we're just gonna have to play the waiting game."

Blaine shuffled over and took a seat at the kitchen table, grateful that they had been able to purchase and put together _some_ of their new furniture before the Hummels stopped by with his things. He felt bad that Cooper had dipped into his savings to get everything (and he felt _really_ bad when he learned how much rent was going to cost them), but since his body was still in a very weakened state, he knew that getting this stuff done sooner was probably for the best. Yawning, he leaned against the table with his good arm and blinked sleepily at Cooper. "I wish you wouldn't talk about the Hummels like that. They're your family too and even though Kurt and I might be- are- we're not doing well right now, they're still gonna be a big part of my life and your's too. This is their grandchild and you might as well get over it."

"I'm not trying to be a dick, B. Geez, calm down. I'm just trying to figure out what's taking them so long. They said they'd be here an hour ago and they're already late."

"This is New York City, genius." Blaine teased, closing his eyes as he dropped his arm onto the table and laid his head on top of it. "I could use a nap."

"Well, we just put together your headboard and set up your mattress and box spring. You could go lie down in your room."

"I don't have any blankets."

"And who's fault is that?" Cooper said. He rolled his eyes and took a seat on top of the table, ignoring Blaine when the younger man opened his eyes and glared at him.

"Number one, don't sit on the table; you'll break it. And two, I want the bedding from the apartment. Kurt has a different bedding on our bed at home and my favorite bedding is in storage. I can easily use that instead of buying new ones."

Cooper stared at his little brother, heart too heavy to mention that Blaine kept on calling the apartment he once shared with Kurt '_home_', and he smiled. "Well, when they get here with everything, we'll go ahead and put your sheets and stuff on first so you can take a nap and let me do all the interior decorating."

Blaine's eyes popped back open, "Well then maybe I should just stay awake then."

"Shut up."

::::::::::

It took the whole household (minus Blaine, who had indeed fallen asleep at the kitchen table) four hours to unload the moving truck and bring everything upstairs and into the new apartment. After they had dragged everything into the living room, Carole went to work unpacking Blaine's clothes and bedding (to which she was heartbroken to see tiny little post-it notes stuck to each layer of clothing, telling her where to put everything based on the way Blaine liked his dresser drawers organized.) Finn, Burt, and Cooper put together various pieces of furniture and stocked the shelves with Blaine's toiletries and the food that Kurt sent with them. All the while, Blaine slept on at the table, his neck crooked against his elbow of which Burt was sure the man was going to wake up stiff-necked and sore as hell.

Finally, when it was late enough that the news stations started taking over, the group was done, standing around admiring their work. Blaine woke up right as Carole went to nuke some food for a very late dinner and when he saw everything packed away, he immediately voiced his protest over not being able to help.

"You need the rest, silly." Carole said, setting a plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, and various vegetables in front of him. "Now eat. You lost a few pounds over the last few weeks, I can tell. Eat up."

The family silently ate as the tv in the living room told about a festival going on in Central Park and when it turned to talk about a new Broadway musical, Blaine stopped eating to look up at his in-laws. "Where's Rachel anyway? I thought she was coming by."

"Oh, she decided to stay with Kurt, honey. She said she'd drop by another day."

"Oh," Blaine said softly, looking down at his vegetable medley. "How is- umm, how is Kurt, by the way?"

"He's dealing," Burt answered. He looked up at his son-in-law and found those large hazel eyes looking back at him with tears shining in them. "He's about in the same state as you are, kiddo. I know you two need time apart, but-"

Cooper went to say something but Carole put a hand on his arm to shush him, shaking her head negatively as she looked back and forth between the two conversing men.

"Kurt's just as heartbroken as you are, Blaine. I know you feel like your world's ended, but you've gotta believe me when I tell you that Kurt feels the same."

Blaine nodded, his fingers releasing his fork as it gently fell to the side of the plate. "I- I'm sorry. I need to lie down," he whispered, rising from the table and disappearing from everyone's sight as quickly as possible. As soon as he was gone, Cooper turned on Burt, disgust written all over his face.

"Why did you just do that?"

"I only told him the truth, Cooper. Blaine needs to know that he's not suffering alone."

"Oh okay! So it's alright for Kurt to just ditch my brother, but he's suffering too?! Alrighty then! Yeah, okay! Sure! What a crock of shit."

Finn threw his fork down, "You know what? You have no idea what's going on with Kurt right now! You just see Blaine's side and that's it, but you've never tried to understand Kurt's feelings!"

"I have too!"

"You have not! Kurt's having a rough time right now, just like Blaine, but you're too focused on the fact that Blaine's your brother to even understand that they're both hurting right now! Kurt's just as broken up about his marriage ending as Blaine is, so don't you dare try to act like Blaine's feelings are worth more than Kurt's! They're both heartbroken and they both need our support, so shut the fuck up and-"

"I think it's time you left," Cooper hissed, rising from the table. Carole shot a frenzied look at Burt and the older man stood up as well.

"C'mon Finn. Cooper, just think about what we said, alright? It won't do Blaine any good if you keep on tearing Kurt down like that. Like it or not, my son is the other father of that baby and he'll always be a part of your life." Burt took Carole's hand and they walked towards the door, Finn right behind. "I'm sorry things got too heated, but you need to understand our feelings on the matter too. We're here for _both_ of the boys and I hope you'll be there too."

With those parting words, the Hudmel clan left the apartment and Cooper just sat there, listening to the sound of the news and the sobs that echoed down the hall from Blaine's bedroom.

* * *

**A/N: Last night's Glee left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, but unlike someone close to me who also writes for this fandom, my Klaine fic writing mojo hasn't completely left me yet, so here's an update for you! I might be able to update this again tonight or tomorrow depending on how wired I'm feeling, but I hope you liked this chapter and please review! Also, thanks for the comments on the last chapter. I appreciate all forms of reviews (constructive criticism and the like) and the fact that you guys have taken the time out to say something to me about this story means a lot. I really appreciate it. Thank you.**


	18. Chapter 18

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

Kurt slumped against the front door and blew his bangs away from his forehead. His parents had just left after spending a little over a week with him at the apartment and even though he knew they had to get back to their lives back in Ohio, he was going to miss their presence in the house. Ever since Blaine moved away last week, everything felt empty. The king sized bed was way too big for just him anymore and despite the fact that the two of them had fought and slept in different rooms over the last few weeks, Blaine's scent still lingered on the bedding, especially on Kurt's side of the bed - which broke Kurt's heart to find out. Because that week that they weren't talking meant that Blaine had been lonely enough to cuddle up with Kurt's pillows.

Now, a little over two weeks since Blaine's accident at Rachel's, everything in the Anderson-Hummel house was different. Actually, if Kurt thought about it long enough, he could probably call it the Hummel household now, but doing that meant that he was done with Blaine for good and he wasn't sure if he was ready to think about that yet. Sighing, he pushed away from the door and stepped into the kitchen, eyes scanning the area for something to drink. A bottle of raspberry flavored vodka sat on the counter and Kurt quickly poured himself a shot, tossing it back with a grimace before he put the shot glass into the sink and leaned against the counter. Jennycat wound her way around his ankles, her tail flicking against his legs as she walked.

"You miss him too, don't you J?"

The cat rubbed her head against his foot before she pranced away and Kurt chewed on his lip, looking back around the room at the decor. There were a million little accents around the place that reminded him of Blaine, just tiny little specks of things that screamed _Blaine was here_ at him and made him feel terrible every time he saw them. A note from weeks ago was stuck to the side of the fridge with a nerdy bowtie magnet holding it in place; in Blaine's scrawl, it read: _Don't forget - important baby dr. visit tomorrow! Love you! -Blaine_

It was the note that Blaine had left him for the appointment that he deliberately missed, the one that Blaine cancelled and ended up getting sick because of. Just seeing that note there made Kurt feel disgusted. Frowning, he pulled the note away from the fridge and crumbled it up, tossing it in the trash as he left the kitchen and went to his bedroom.

_If you just would've went to the appointment with him, this never would have happened. Your husband would be here with you right now instead of living on the other side of the city. You two would be happy, but instead you ruined it all._

Blinking back some tears, Kurt climbed onto the bed and laid down, pulling the covers over his face. He could feel Jennycat making herself comfortable near the bottom of the bed and he swallowed thickly, desperate for the lump in his throat to go away. Instead, he sobbed brokenly, rolling onto his side, his face nestled into the pillow that smelled so much like Blaine.

_I'm alone_.

::::::::::

When Cooper went back to Providence earlier that week, Blaine had been glad. Not that he didn't love his brother, but after hearing the man grumble about Kurt every five seconds, Blaine just needed some time alone, which was what he was getting now that Coop was back in Rhode Island to finish filming his movie.

Even though the apartment was spacious and absolutely gorgeous, it didn't feel like home to Blaine. It was too clean, too big (for just him right now), and it was way too quiet for his liking. At first, Blaine pleaded with Cooper to let him bring Jennyanydots back with him, but after a long discussion about how it was dangerous for a pregnant person to own a cat due to a certain issue with litter boxes and cat poop and blah blah blah, Jenny ended up staying with Kurt and Blaine was stuck in a house that had a fish tank full of boring tropical fish. Some mornings, he would make himself some cream of wheat and just sit on the couch, watching as the fish swam back and forth across the tank. Then he would imagine Jenny sitting on top of the tank, batting her tiny little paws into the water, and he would laugh for hours.

He missed her.

He missed _Kurt._

Honestly, being alone in a new apartment was difficult. Some nights he would wake up with a craving for a tall glass of milk and would end up bumping into a wall on his way there because he just wasn't used to the place yet. Or he would wake up shivering in the middle of the night and go to roll over to cuddle up next to Kurt, only to find empty space beside him. On those nights, he would grab a pillow and cry into it, wishing that things had turned out differently.

But, they didn't and it wasn't like he could go back in time and change things. He also couldn't go running back to Kurt like he sometimes felt like doing, not after the way things were before. Kurt had become distant and cold towards him during their final weeks together; it was obvious that Kurt didn't want the baby and wasn't excited about the pregnancy at all (like Blaine had started to think he was) and after all of their fights and the increased stress Blaine was enduring, they needed to be separate.

It didn't go without heartache though. Blaine felt like someone tore him in half and left the other part of him somewhere else and sometimes he wondered if Kurt felt the same.

"I miss your daddy," he said softly to his stomach, running a hand over the bump as he stretched out his limbs on the sectional sofa. "I miss Jennycat too."

Sighing, he closed his eyes and imagined what Kurt was doing, whether or not his husband was at work having coffee with Isabelle, or whether he was still sleeping at home and going in for a late shift. Outside, it was raining steadily and had been all morning, so Blaine wondered if Kurt wore his rain boots out if he did actually have to work that morning.

_I miss him_. _I hope he's okay, _he thought as he drifted off to sleep, hand still rubbing his stomach.

A few hours later, Blaine awoke to someone pounding on the front door. Yawning, he stood up from the couch and stretched his tired limbs, slowly making his way across the apartment to see who the person was who was making all that noise. Looking through the peephole, he smiled when he saw who was standing outside and when he opened the door, Rachel skipped in, smiling bright and brandishing a bag of food.

"Hey! I hope you're hungry! I brought lunch!"

"How did you know I haven't eaten yet?"

Rachel laughed, "Just a guess. I hope you don't mind Italian. I picked up some on the way and I got a little of everything just in case you were craving something special."

"Well," Blaine began, peering into the bags when Rachel set them on the table. "I've really only had strong cravings for milk... that and raw potatoes, but I had a potato for breakfast, so this will be great because I'm starving."

"Raw potatoes?" Rachel asked as she took a few plates out of the cupboard and placed them onto the table. She scooped out generous portions of pasta and salad onto each plate while Blaine separated the garlic knots. "Not getting enough starch in your diet?"

"Actually, I think it's the dirt taste that I crave. Is that weird?"

"I would say no, but yes, that's creepy."

"Blame the baby."

"That's mean! He's not even here to defend himself," Rachel teased as she sat down at the table. Blaine took the seat across from her and immediately began to dig into his food, earning a laugh from his friend when she watched him pop a whole garlic knot into his mouth. "You must really be starving."

"The baby's fault," Blaine mumbled around a mouthful of food and Rachel chuckled. The two of them ate quietly for a while after that, Rachel occasionally chiming in with different questions about the baby and how long Cooper was going to be gone. Halfway through her discussion on Finn's sleeping habits, Blaine froze and a strange look passed across his face.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"I-" He started, only to pause and make another face, his hand flying towards his belly. "That was weird."

"What was weird? Are you okay? Do I need to call for help?"

"No, no, don't move. It's just- I think- I think the baby just kicked."

Rachel's fork clattered onto her plate. A beaming smile spread across her face and she clapped her hands together excitedly. "Really?! Oh my god, can I feel it?"

"You can try. I don't think you'll be able to because it's faint, but I can feel it since he's... well, you know, in there and all." Blaine stood up and walked over to Rachel, taking her hands to place on his stomach. The two of them waited patiently for some movement and then Blaine grinned, "He kicked again."

"_Aww_! I can't feel it!"

"Maybe when he's a little bigger you'll be able to," Blaine soothed, smiling down at his belly as Rachel patted it gently.

"That's so exciting though. I bet you're really happy right now."

"Yeah, I am," he said, rubbing over the spot where he could feel the sweet little flutters. He looked down at his stomach and felt a prickling sensation begin at the back of his eyes. "I just- I wish Kurt was here."

"Oh honey-"

"Like, I- I know things between us aren't good anymore, but sometimes I wish that maybe he was just as excited about this as I am. I understand that not all people love kids, but when we were younger, he always said that he wouldn't mind having children when we got a little older and now... now he's gone."

"You're not doing this alone, you know? You've got me, Finn, Cooper, Burt, Carole... all of us. You're not in this alone."

"I know. I just- it feels strange not having him here, you know?" Blaine sat back down and ran his damp palms over his thighs, "I'll sit and watch those baby shows on TLC and all the moms on there have husbands who are excited for their babies. I even watched a special on male pregnancy the other day and the other dad was ecstatic over his husband being pregnant... I just couldn't help feeling jealous, I guess. I miss him... a lot and it feels so weird because he's just a few minutes away, but honestly, it really feels like we're worlds apart."

"Blaine-"

"This isn't proper dinner conversation. I'm sorry. I keep on ruining stuff for us and everything's starting to become a _woe is me_ story. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Rachel said, taking Blaine's hand into her own. "You're scared right now and I completely understand that. What's happened over the last few months has been awful and you never should have been under that much stress. I mean, I love Kurt, but he was wrong in treating you that way and I understand why you left. I don't blame you, Blaine. You're one of my best friends and I love you to death and I don't like to see you hurting."

"Kurt's hurting too."

"I know he is. But he can take care of himself. You have your health and the health of your unborn son to consider, Blaine. Kurt may be having a hard time right now, but so are you and, honestly, watching you pass out the other day was hands down the scariest moment of my life." She squeezed his hand firmly, "Finn and I had no idea what was happening and Kurt wasn't answering his phone and then later on we found out that he was ignoring you and that _never_ should have happened. _Never_."

"Rachel-"

"I love Kurt. I do. But eventually he'll be alright. You will too, I just know it. Just- Just take care of yourself, okay? Don't worry about Kurt, don't worry about anything or anyone else - just focus on you and your baby. We're all here for you and if you ever need anything, you know you can just call me or Finn, right? We'll be right here as soon as we can."

"I- Thank you. I really appreciate that," Blaine said as he ducked his head bashfully. Rachel gave his hand another little tug before she released it and went back to eating her pasta. Smiling at his friend, Blaine took another bite of a garlic knot and relished in the light little nudges he was feeling in his midsection.

No matter how long the wait was for this moment, it was all worth it, even if the only person he had to share the moment with right now was his sister-in-law.

::::::::::

Several days went by before Blaine was able to go out of the house again.

He was on strict orders to stay home and rest following his hospital stay, and while he did oblige the doctor's orders, he was having some serious cabin fever. So, after a full two weeks of being home, Blaine ventured out into public; first he made a stop at his old coffee shop job to say hello to his former boss and the staff. Barbara had been sad to lose him again, but was glad that he and the baby were doing better now - plus, Blaine promised to sometimes stop in and make his famous vegan bars depending on how he felt. After visiting the shop, he also swung by to see his friends at the after school program and even got to see a few of his kids from tutoring. On his way out, he spotted Annette with a friend of hers and when the little girl saw him, she rushed up to him and gave him a hug, crying over the fact that she wasn't allowed to take lessons any longer thanks to her mother. Blaine patted the little girl on the cheek and had a nice chat with her about how much he'd miss her and how he hoped she did well in the future when it came to performing. By the end of the afternoon, he was on his way to his doctor's appointment with teary eyes thanks to his conversation with Miss Annette.

He was still wiping away the tears when he walked into the ob/gyn's office; the receptionist looked him up and down before smiling in sympathy, "Hormones got ya already, sweetheart?"

"I dunno," Blaine said sadly, signing his name on the check-in sheet. The secretary smiled up at him and waved him in.

"We're not too busy today, hun. Just come on back." A nurse opened the door for Blaine and he followed her on to the exam rooms, carefully answering any questions she asked before he went to have his blood pressure checked and his weight taken. As he passed various rooms on the way to his own, he couldn't help but notice the other pregnant people in the building who had their husbands next to them as their support systems.

_I miss him._

::::::::::

Isabelle peeked her head into Kurt's office and opened the door fully when she spotted the man she was looking for sitting in his chair, chin resting on his hand as he stared at the framed photo of Blaine's first ultrasound.

"I bet the baby's _much_ bigger now," she commented, taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite Kurt's desk. The man acknowledged her for a millisecond before he went to look back at the photo again.

"Blaine's like 22 or 23 weeks now. I'm betting the baby's huge."

"It's probably kicking too," Isabelle reminisced. "When my sister was pregnant, my niece started kicking quite a bit at 22 weeks-"

"It's a _he_. Blaine's having a little boy."

"Oh. Well, congratulations! Umm, that's exciting."

"Yeah," Kurt mused sadly. "I guess it is." He took one final look at the picture before he turned to face Isabelle completely; his glassy blue eyes overlooked his boss for a few seconds before he flicked his gaze away to look out of the window. Isabelle could easily see the distress and hurt written all over his face and she sighed.

"Kurt, have you thought about talking to someone about all of this?"

She was met with silence.

"I mean, like a therapist or something? It's not doing you any good to bottle this all up. I've noticed how you've not been eating properly, hun. You're not sleeping, you're not eating, you're barely functioning and honestly, I hate seeing you this way. You deserve to be heard too, you know?"

"I don't need a shrink."

"Really? Because your ensemble right now says otherwise," the woman gestured, pointing at Kurt's mismatched outfit. Any other time, Kurt would've been a picture of perfection, but Isabelle immediately noticed something was wrong when she heard rumors buzzing through the building that one of her staff members was wearing an atrocious, eye sore of an outfit. Of course, when she saw Kurt slink by later on that morning, she knew who the staff was talking about and she instantly had to intervene. Frowning, she reached into her clutch and pulled out a business card, sliding it across the table to bump against Kurt's hand. "That's a card for Dr. Gartner. She's a brilliant woman and a wonderful listener. Just... Kurt, please talk to someone. Someone who's going to be neutral throughout all of this. You're killing yourself and I hate it. Just, please, _please_ call her?"

Kurt ignored the pointy edge of the card stabbing into the side of his hand. Instead, he stared straight out of the window and watched the clouds roll by up in the stormy looking sky. Across from him, Isabelle got up and left, the click of the door closing announcing her departure, and once she was gone, Kurt turned and picked up the card, flipping it back and forth between his fingers as he stared at the name and number on the front.

As much as he didn't want to see a shrink, the more he thought about it, and the more he believed it wouldn't hurt. Mustering up some courage, he picked up his office phone and dialed the number.

Within seconds, he made an appointment the upcoming Wednesday.

::::::::::

Blaine sat up, using the paper towel he was provided with to wipe the rest of the ultrasound gel from his stomach. Dr. Banes smiled sweetly at him and handed him a few copies of the baby's pictures, rising from her spot on the stool to get ready to exit the room. "Remember, Blaine, you need to take it easy and get your rest. I won't need to see you for another two weeks when you need to come and get your next vaccines, _but_ if you happen to feel any sort of side effects following the one I gave you today, do _not_ hesitate to call me. The last thing we need is you back in the hospital."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Blaine said breathlessly, still in awe over how much his little guy had grown. He stared down at the photos in his hands and felt his heart swell due to the tiny angel that was pictured in those photographs. _Look how much you've grown. Wait until your grandparents, uncles, and aunt see these._

Smiling, Blaine bid his doctor goodbye and went to get dressed properly. In the middle of shrugging on his cardigan, there was a soft knock on the door and then a nurse stepped in, "Blaine? Hi, my name's Maggie! Doctor Banes wanted me to stop you before you left today. She wanted to see you in her office before you go, so if you wouldn't mind following me?"

The woman led him down the wide hallway to where Banes' office was located. His doctor was seated at her desk, her eyes focused solely on a set of ultrasound photos, in which, to Blaine's horror, ended up being his own. When Maggie cleared her throat and announced Blaine's presence, the obstetrician smiled and waved them in, nodding at the chair in front of her desk for Blaine to sit in. "Sorry for the delay in you getting home, Blaine. I just wanted to speak with you about your ultrasound today."

Blaine's stomach flipped at the tone in her voice and instantly he flashed back to a moment just minutes before when the doctor paused and stared seriously at his baby before she snapped a screenshot. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I know you're going to worry no matter what I tell you, but first off, there's really nothing to worry about. While I was doing your ultrasound today, I noticed something a little strange near the fetus' spinal cord. Now most of the time, it's nothing, but given your prior history with illness and stress during this pregnancy, I would like to take a closer look. Now, we have run all the blood work we need so far, but there's one test we can run that will give us a deeper understanding of what may be going on."

"And that is?" Blaine asked hesitantly, his fingers slowly grazing over his belly.

"It's called an amniocentesis-"

"Isn't that the test with that long needle that- that goes into your stomach?"

Dr. Banes nodded, "Yes, unfortunately that's what scares a lot of patients when I first mention it, but I must also mention that it is a pretty common procedure, especially in male pregnancies. It allows us to look for genetic malformations by testing the fluid in the amniotic sac and even though it sounds painful, the test is really only seconds long and you'll heal up not long after."

Blaine's roaming hand paused over a spot where his son was frantically kicking and deep down, he wondered if the little boy was trying to show his protest over the idea of a needle stabbing into his home. "Umm, when would this test take place? And would I need someone to come with me?"

"We can schedule you in for Thursday, if you're free, and I would suggest having someone bring you here and take you home. Even though the procedure is common, you will need to monitor your temperature afterwards because if you're feverish, it could mean something is going on in there. It's best to have someone with you that can watch over you for the evening and then maybe stay overnight."

"So you want to see me again on Thursday?"

"Yes," the doctor said with a nod, penciling something onto her desk calendar before she went to sign a few forms. Blaine watched her sign the papers with a flourish and he gnawed on his lower lip nervously.

"I should be able to make it on Thursday."

"Great. Then I will send this down to the front desk and they can schedule the appointment for you up there. Other than that, that was all I really needed to discuss with you this afternoon. Here's a pamphlet on the amnio if you're curious and I will see you on Thursday, okay? Take care."

Blaine took the offered booklet from her and held it against his chest, rising slowly since his body felt weak thanks to the adrenaline bursting through his system. Steadily, he made his way down the hall and to the front desk, and was somehow able to check himself out and schedule his amnio without any issues. When the receptionist bid him a good day as he left, he waved at her and walked out into the lobby with his heart raging in his chest and fear racing up his skin in goosebumps.

Shakily, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and turned it on, leaning against the wall since his shaky knees could barely hold him up anymore. Several rings filled his ear until a bright, cheery voice answered.

"Hello? Blaine?"

"Rachel, can I ask you something?"

* * *

**A/N: I thought I was going to be able to write and post two chapters in one day the other day (when I posted chapter 17) but I got sidetracked and then this chapter just kept on sucking in my opinion and it still feels like it sucks, but hopefully the next chapter will be better. Thanks for reading, everybody! Let me know what you thought!**


	19. Chapter 19

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

Going to the therapist was a scary ordeal. Kurt had his first appointment on Wednesday morning and even though his therapist seemed like a lovely woman, he was scared to tell her everything that had been going on in his life so far. Telling a complete stranger that he completely shut out his sickly, pregnant husband only made him sound like a terrible person to his own ears and he couldn't fathom how someone who was paid to listen to his problems (and remain neutral on the situation) would even accept his failures.

But, nonetheless, he went to his first visit and talked to Dr. Gartner a little bit about how much he missed Blaine, but that was it. In his mind, he was going to ease into the therapy slowly and at his own pace; plus, since he didn't feel comfortable right now, he wasn't going to push it. It was going to take some time for him to learn to trust his new doctor and maybe someday in the near future, he would be secure enough to talk about what _really_ brought him to her office. Until then, it was just a waiting game.

_The next appointment will be better. Talking to her will get easier,_ Kurt thought to himself as he unlocked his office on Thursday morning. _Quit freaking out._

::::::::::

Blaine was trying not to freak out.

It was early Thursday morning and he was getting ready for his dreaded appointment with Dr. Banes. All morning he had been on edge; he overslept, couldn't stomach eating anything from the fear that he would just throw it up anyway, and while he was in the shower earlier, he realized he ran out of his favorite body wash. Things just _weren't_ going his way.

However, no matter how much he didn't want to go out that morning, he knew he needed to for the baby's sake, so he rushed to finish getting dressed and within an hour, he was ready to head out. As he zipped up his spring jacket, he paused and gazed at his reflection in the hall mirror, carefully running a hand through his hair. He brushed a few stray curls away from his forehead and scowled. He couldn't believe how different he looked - his hair was longer (and looked more ridiculous every single day), he had gained a little weight in his face (which wasn't too noticeable to anyone but him really), and none of his clothes were fitting properly anymore. Other than the shower mishap that morning, Blaine also found himself struggling to fit into his jeans and he ended up having to zip and button them up low on his hips to where they now sat awkwardly beneath his swollen belly. To make matters worse, his cardigan barely stayed buttoned over his stomach, so he just left it alone, sadly coming to the realization that he was going to need to go clothes shopping soon. _This sucks._

Pushing all thoughts of his ill-fitting clothes to the side, Blaine grabbed his cellphone and tucked it into his coat pocket, stepping out of the apartment and locking the door behind him as he went on his way. His stomach bubbled with anxiety as he thought about what he was about to face that afternoon: the _amniocentesis_. Luckily, Rachel told him she would be able to meet him at the clinic before his test, so he wouldn't have to be alone. But even though he knew she was going to be there for him, he still couldn't stop the butterflies that fluttered madly in his gut. He was scared to death over this test, scared that the doctor was going to find something very seriously wrong with his baby and after all the drama that he endured for the first few months of this pregnancy, he wasn't too sure he'd be able to handle anymore.

_Think happy thoughts,_ he repeated to himself as he waved his arm in the air to hail a taxi. _Happy thoughts._

::::::::::

"Mr. Hummel?" Shelly cautiously questioned as she poked her head around the edge of Kurt's slightly open office door. Kurt paused in his work of putting the finishing touches on the header for their new spring layout and looked up, raising a brow at the young intern.

"Yes?"

"There's a phone call for you on line one. It's a _Miss Berry._"

"Ahh, yes, thank you," Kurt said, giving the girl a dismissive, yet thankful wave. He saved his work and grabbed the phone, pressing the number one button to take the call, "Rachel? What's going on?"

"Please tell me you don't have plans this afternoon!" The woman panted out, her voice sounding winded and raspy. Kurt raised a brow and leaned back in his chair.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Kurt, I'm sick and I was supposed to go with Blaine to the doctor in like an hour, but I can't. I promised him I'd be there, but I just woke up because I overslept this morning and I think I may have an upper respiratory infection - _I don't know_! I tried to call Finn to see if he could go, but he can't get out of work and you're the only person I can think of to go and I know you and Blaine aren't okay right now, but he really needs the support right now and-"

"Why? What's wrong?" Kurt asked, cutting off Rachel's incessant rambling. His fingers tightened their grip around the phone and he bit his lower lip between his teeth, images of Blaine back in the hospital filling his mind while worry swelled in his chest. "Is it the baby?"

"Well-"

"Oh my god-"

"He's just having some preventative tests today," Rachel coughed. Her scratchy breaths sounded pitiful on Kurt's end. "Something showed up on the ultrasound and his doctor wants to look at it more closely. She also said that he needs someone to come with him, which was why I was going to go, but-"

"I'll go."

"..._you will_?"

"Yeah. What time is the appointment and where is it?" Kurt scrawled down the info as Rachel repeated it to him and with a final goodbye and some well wishes for Rachel's health, Kurt hung up the phone and sunk back into his chair. He took a deep breath, sinking low into his chair, and stared over at the picture of the baby's first ultrasound.

Earlier that day he walked into work with his mind on his therapy session and soon, in a few minutes, he was leaving to go to see the object of that photograph in person for the very first time. For the millionth time in a few hours, he felt overwhelmed.

::::::::::

Blaine crossed his ankles, one over the other, and flipped through a baby magazine, lip worried in between his teeth as the appointment hour ticked closer and closer. Rachel still hadn't arrived, though she had a good ten or fifteen minutes before they would inevitably call him back for the procedure, but even though Blaine knew she had time to spare, he was still nervous that she wasn't coming.

He had gotten far too used to being let down lately and wasn't about to get his hopes up now.

Sighing, he set the magazine down on the side table next to him and went to stroke his belly, hands carefully trailing down the front of his tight t-shirt. The baby was kicking at his left side, tiny feet nudging against Blaine's stomach and he smirked at the feeling, uncrossing his ankles to lounge back in the seat a bit to ease the ache in his hips. _That_ was something slightly new - the ache. He had dealt with aching hips in the beginning of his pregnancy, but the pain was short and only lasted a little while. Now it seemed stronger than ever since his body was starting to prepare for the baby's upcoming growth spurt.

_God, I'm gonna be in for a world of fun. But it's so worth it,_ he thought as he rested his palm over the spot where the baby kicked. He couldn't feel it against his hand since the kicks weren't strong enough for anyone else to feel outside of the womb, but he felt like if he put his hand there, the baby would know. So he did. Smiling, he looked around the room at the various decorations and then looked over to where a young woman and her significant other sat. The man had his hand on her large belly, smiling and cooing at it while the girl beside him giggled. Just watching the loving couple together made the minuscule happiness Blaine had been feeling fade away and bristles of jealousy ran up his spine before he turned away, dropping his gaze to his phone where a new message from Rachel was displayed.

From Rachel: _Blaine. I'm so sorry. I'm very sick and can't make the appointment today._

His heart dropped as he stared the message. _I should have known. Oh god,__ I'm going to have to do this alone. _Hurt stung behind his eyelashes and he closed his eyes tight, trying to stop the unavoidable tears from falling. Beside him, he could hear the other patient in the waiting room whisper something to her significant other and he sucked his lower lip beneath his teeth. _Please don't come over here. Please don't come over here._

"Sir, are you alright?"

Blaine's watery eyes popped open to find the pregnant woman sitting next to him, her partner hovering carefully over her shoulder as they both stared at him. Swallowing the thick knot in his throat, Blaine nodded pathetically and looked away from the couple as his lower lip started to tremble. He didn't want to seem like he was being rude or anything, not when these lovely people were trying to make sure he was alright, but at that moment, everything felt like it was crumbling around him again and all he wanted to do was to be hugged and soothed by someone he _knew_, not a _stranger._ Sniffling, he looked down at his belly, "I'm fine. Just nervous, I guess."

"Are you here alone?" The woman asked, her voice sympathy tinged.

"I-"

"..._Blaine_?"

The group looked up at the door and Blaine's heart stopped. Kurt was standing there in the doorway, cheeks and nose bright pink from having just been outside in the cool, spring air. The taller man just stood there staring at the people sitting before him, blue eyes wide and searching as he took in the broken look on his husband's face. Seeing him there was a shock and Blaine blinked several times in disbelief, ignoring the onslaught of tears that trickled down his cheeks as he stared. _Kurt_ was there. Kurt, his _husband_, the man who had broken his heart a million times, the man who he loved more than anything, was standing there, dressed in a pair of sleek black pants, a white button-down shirt, and a dark blue blazer, obviously having just come from the Vogue offices, and when Blaine looked up at him, Kurt offered him a pathetic attempt a smile.

"Kurt?"

"Rachel called me. She's sick and wasn't able to make it here. I... I know you and I- we're not- well, _together _right now, but I'm here if you want me to be... if that's okay."

The couple sitting next to Blaine stared back and forth between the two, studying the obviously matching wedding bands on their fingers, before the woman patted Blaine's shoulder gently, smiled at Kurt, and then went with her partner back to where they were seated before. Once they were gone, Kurt stepped further into the room and slowly edged his way to where Blaine sat, now teary-eyed and shaking at the sight of him.

"Hey, don't cry. It'll be okay."

"I'm so scared," Blaine choked out, dropping his head into his hands as Kurt took the seat next to him and hesitantly reached out. Without a care, Blaine leaned into Kurt's embrace and cried against him, all the emotions he felt over the last few weeks pouring out along with the fear of the day's testing. Kurt held onto his crying husband tightly against his chest and leaned his cheek into Blaine's curly hair, slightly amused at the lack of product in the unruly curls.

"It'll be okay. You'll be alright."

"I'm not worried about me," Blaine whimpered against Kurt's collar. "The baby- he-"

"I know, but it'll be fine. It will."

Blaine went to disagree, his body growing tense with doubt and anger that Kurt was trying to soothe him over something he just couldn't understand when the door to the exam wing opened and a nurse dressed in rubber ducky scrubs stepped out, clipboard in hand. "Blaine Anderson-Hummel?"

Blaine pulled away and stood up with Kurt following suit. Both men listened to the nurse's introduction before they attentively followed her when she waved them back to the exam rooms. Kurt lagged behind his husband as the younger man walked stiffly ahead of him and as they walked down the hall, Kurt could feel the tension flowing off of Blaine in waves. He could see how nervous the other man was: how Blaine's jaw was locked tight, but also how his eyes were shining with tears and glazed over with fear. Cautiously, he bumped Blaine's hand with his own and held it palm up, watching as his husband stared at the offering.

"Kurt-"

Both men paused in their journey down the hall, Blaine still looking at Kurt's hand while Kurt waited to see if Blaine would accept it. Slowly, Blaine reached over and took Kurt's fingers within his own, sniffling when Kurt squeezed his hand in reassurance. "It'll be okay."

"_You don't know that,_" Blaine whispered, holding Kurt's hand for just another moment longer before he dropped it and crossed his arms over his chest, curling into himself as a form of protection. Immediately, he started walking again and Kurt followed close behind, but neither man spoke anymore as they made their way down the hall.

The nurse in front of them stopped and turned around to face them, smiling brightly as she gestured to a room to their right. "Alright! Here we are. I'm gonna go ahead and get Blaine's weight and blood pressure checked before we begin the exam and then Dr. Banes will be here shortly." She went ahead and got the automatic blood pressure cuff plugged in and ready while Blaine shed his jacket and cardigan. When Blaine pulled the cardigan completely away from his tiny frame, Kurt fought the urge to gasp at what he saw. The baby bump he last saw a few weeks ago had grown exponentially and to the naked eye, it was now obvious that Blaine was with child. Seeing that his husband's expanding belly was so much different than it had been before made a lump swell in Kurt's throat and he turned away for a moment to take a deep breath. Behind him, Blaine watched him carefully, guarded hazel eyes observing the strange way Kurt was acting, only to look away when he climbed the scale to get his weight checked and when he had to have his BP measured. After those tests were done, Blaine climbed up on the examining table and kicked his legs back and forth while he waited for the nurse to fetch Dr. Banes. Beside him, Kurt was staring at the various posters of the pregnant body, his fingers tapping at the collar of his shirt as he read.

"You don't have to be here, you know."

Kurt's fingers paused in their motions and he turned to look at Blaine, a frown creasing on his features when he noticed the tired, resigned look Blaine had on his face. "You need the support."

"So you decide to give it to me now?" Blaine hissed lowly, his hands gripping the sides of the bed he sat on. "You're only here because Rachel couldn't be."

"And you don't want to be here alone, so why are you getting angry with me?"

"I- Kurt! Gosh! Maybe it's because I'm scared to death that they're gonna find something wrong with my baby and instead of one of my best friends here beside me, I've got my angry fucking ex here when he doesn't even _want_ this baby!"

"Blaine-"

"No, Kurt! Why are you even here? You didn't give two shits about us before, so why now? Is it because you want to find out if something's truly wrong with him so maybe I'll finally abort him? Huh? Is that it?"

The hysterical tone Blaine's voice was taking truly scared Kurt and he dropped his hand from his neck to press it against his chest. The things Blaine had said burnt at his soul and he could feel tears filling his eyes at the thought that Blaine thought he wanted their child dead. He may have had his reservations about fatherhood, but he didn't want _that_. "No, Blaine! Stop it!"

"You never wanted him, so why do you care now? _Why?_"

Kurt shook his head, stepping forward to get closer to his husband, but Blaine pulled back and curled in on himself, arms locked tight over his chest. His heart breaking, Kurt grabbed Blaine's shoulders and tugged him towards his chest, wrapping his arms around the trembling man below him. He held tight, holding Blaine closer when the other man started to fidget, and as he held Blaine against him, he did his best to calm the frantic man down. "Blaine, please... just calm down. You shouldn't be getting so worked up-"

"I wouldn't be worked up if you were gone!" Blaine sobbed into Kurt's neck and Kurt blinked quickly, the tears in his eyes spilling out to land in Blaine's hair.

"I'm not leaving you right now. Not like this, okay? Let's just get through this test and I'll leave you alone after that, alright?"

"I don't need you!"

"Blaine, please-"

The sound of someone knocking on the door caused both men to freeze and then the door opened to reveal Dr. Banes and the nurse from earlier. Both women paused to stare at the scene before them and then the doctor shot a concerned look at Blaine, "Everything alright in here?"

Blaine's face fell and he looked away, barely biting back the impending meltdown he knew he was about to have. "Everything's fine," he lied, body loosening up in Kurt's embrace. "I'm just nervous." Kurt stepped back and watched him carefully, eyes warily observing the change in Blaine's demeanor. It was so strange to watch his husband switch gears so fast.

"Blaine?"

"Oh, hello there Kurt!" Dr. Banes said cheerfully, recognizing Kurt from the morning she stopped by the hospital after Blaine's accident. She held out her hand for Kurt to shake and he took it hesitantly, stepping back when the woman moved closer to Blaine. "I didn't even realize that was you. Sorry about that. Great to see you though. Blaine tells me you've been busy at work lately; I bet you're excited to finally see the baby now, despite the circumstances."

Kurt barely nodded at her, his focus mostly on Blaine, who had immediately gone quiet and was staring at the floor. _Blaine lied about me so that I didn't look like a negligent father. Why?_ He watched as his husband went to run his fingers beneath his wet eyelids and he sighed sadly. _Oh __Blaine..._

For several moments, he stayed lost in his thoughts as Dr. Banes went to set up the equipment for the test. In the meantime, Blaine laid back, pulling his t-shirt up and over his swollen belly while the nurse went to tuck a few protective pads into the top of Blaine's pants so that his clothing wouldn't get stained during the test. As they prepared, Kurt watched on, completely in awe of the way Blaine's stomach looked now. It looked so much different than it had more than a month ago when he and Blaine were still together and Kurt had Blaine rutting against him in the shower. Now the flesh of Blaine's stomach was smooth and round and it looked nothing like it had before the pregnancy when it was flat and defined, yet still soft to the touch of Kurt's fingertips. I _wonder what it feels like now._

"Okay, first we're going to do an ultrasound. Basically I just want to find a safe spot to inject the needle and withdraw the fluid. We want to stay as far away from the fetus as possible, but close enough to where we can get enough fluid. We'll draw a vial's worth and then we'll be done for the day and you can go home. Are you ready, Blaine?"

Blaine opened his eyes (which Kurt hadn't noticed he had closed) and nodded slowly, his eyes focusing in on the little screen next to the bed. Kurt watched as the doctor put a wand of some sort on his husband's belly and immediately the darkened screen came to life with various shapes in black and white. She moved the wand around Blaine's stomach with ease and then paused, a smile spreading across her face.

"Looks like the little guy's just hanging out in there," she said, pausing in her motions to point at the screen and show the couple what the baby was doing. As soon as Kurt's eyes locked onto what she was pointing out, his heart felt like it stopped beating. And when she pointed at the baby's hand, where his tiny little fingers were stretched out, it was like Kurt had ever seen before. He could see a clear difference between the photo he had hanging up at work and the actual real life thing he was seeing now. The baby had grown, he looked more like an actual human being rather than a blob in the middle of a picture, and at the sight of the little humanoid moving around onscreen, Kurt's heart fluttered. _Oh._

"Oh my god-"

"It's different in person, isn't it?" Dr. Banes asked him, smiling at Kurt's reaction. Blaine turned his head away from the screen for a moment to stare at his husband, shocked when he saw how overwhelmed Kurt looked.

"Kurt?"

"That- That's amazing."

The nurse stepped forward to whisper something to the doctor and both women nodded, Banes leaning to the side to pull the tray of instruments closer to her. "Looks like we've caught the baby while he's resting, so we've got a good spot to pull the amniotic fluid. Blaine, I'm going to need you to put your arms up behind your head and remain as still as you can be, alright? I'm going to swab your belly down with some antiseptic before I put the needle in and when I do that, you'll feel some pressure but it'll be over before you know it."

"O-Okay," Blaine said breathlessly, lifting his arms to let them rest behind his head. Kurt moved closer to the examining table and reached out, taking Blaine's hand into his own as the doctor wiped some iodine over Blaine's stomach.

"Alright, I'm going to insert the needle now, Blaine," Banes said, one hand holding the wand in place while she went to line up a very long, very scary looking needle against Blaine's swollen stomach. She pressed the instrument into Blaine's flesh and Kurt felt pressure build around his hand as Blaine squeezed it tightly. A low hiss slipped from between Blaine's clenched teeth and his eyes watered, twin trails of tears leaking down each side of his face.

"You're doing so well, Blaine," the nurse commented as she locked the vial onto the needle and slowly began drawing the fluid from his stomach. "So, so good there, hun. Just keep breathing like that: slow and gentle, in and out." Blaine followed the nurses instructions, but Kurt could see how much pain he was in and instantly, guilt overcame him. _Why does he have to go through so much_? Swiping his thumb over Blaine's knuckles, Kurt blinked back his own tears and watched as the medical crew finished their job before they withdrew the god awful needle from Blaine's stomach and went to clean up. After everything was moved out of the way, Doctor Banes wiped some more antiseptic around the wound and then cleaned the area properly, putting a patch of gauze over the tiny puncture wound. As she taped the gauze down, she turned to Blaine.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got stabbed in the stomach," Blaine remarked plainly and the staff chuckled in compassion.

"You'll feel a little weird for a while, Blaine, but it shouldn't bother you too much. If you feel any strong pains or pressure near the insertion site, please call our office or go to the ER. Also, if you happen to run a fever over 100 degrees during the next twenty-four hours, I would suggest giving us a call as well. Most people tend to just have slight discomfort after this procedure, but sometimes things happen and we only want the best for you and your baby, alright? You did a wonderful job today, Blaine, and you take care, okay?"

Blaine nodded and Dr. Banes left the room with the fluid sample, leaving Kurt and Blaine with the nurse. The young woman bustled around for a moment, putting things back where they belonged, before she turned back to them and took Blaine's temperature for reference. After notifying them on what Blaine's temperature was (normal), she bid them a good day and waited outside until Blaine was fully dressed before she walked them down to the lobby. Kurt stayed close to his husband, one hand on Blaine's elbow as the younger man walked slowly beside of him, his footsteps sluggish yet steady.

"You okay?"

"It feels weird, but I'm alright." Blaine said softly, pausing at the front desk to check out. When all was said and done, Kurt took Blaine's hand and helped him out of the building, pausing in front of main doors as he debated on what to do.

"Do you want to come back to- to my place or do you want to go to yours?"

"Can we... can we go home? I miss Jennycat."

Kurt's heart broke at the word '_home_' but he nodded, flagging down a taxi to take them back to the apartment where, at one point in time, both of them happily lived together.

::::::::::

Hours after the test, Kurt found himself perched in the doorway to his bedroom, watching as Blaine slept on their bed, curled up around Kurt's pillow with Jennycat snuggled up against the back of his leg. The first time walking through the door with Blaine again had been terribly awkward and when Jenny came creeping around the corner and spotted Blaine in the doorway, Kurt thought he was going to lose it from how awful he felt. _I did this. I broke up our family._ It was obvious Jenny was Blaine's cat by the way she immediately began weaving her way between his legs and purring as loud as she could. Blaine was dying to bend over and pick her up, but due to the discomfort in his belly, he refrained, so Kurt picked up the cat and handed her over, ignoring the pang that his heart felt when Blaine looked up at him with those emotion filled golden orbs.

"I missed this," Blaine had remarked as he nuzzled the cat and even Kurt caught the implication behind that statement: _I miss us. I miss you._ But he couldn't say anything back, not now. So, he watched Blaine all day, watched how his husband wandered around the house looking at the empty spots that once housed the items he ended up taking to his new apartment, and by dinner time, when Blaine was looking like he was about to fall over from exhaustion, Kurt put his hands on Blaine's shoulders and guided him to the bedroom.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine."

"Just take a nap, Blaine. You look like you're going to pass out."

"I'm _fine_."

But then Blaine disappeared while Kurt was on the phone with Isabelle and when Kurt finally found him again, Blaine was already knocked out on the bed with Jenny.

And Kurt's mind couldn't help but think: _This is wh__ere he belongs..._

::::::::::

"Thanks for coming today, but I really should go."

"You really should stay the night."

"I'll be fine. I haven't run a fever all night and it's getting late anyway, so I should probably leave now."

"Blaine-"

"Kurt, I can't stay here, okay? You came with me to the doctor, _woo hoo_, but that doesn't mean it changes anything! Thanks for watching over me, thanks for letting me come back here, but- but I don't belong here anymore. We're not who we used to be, Kurt, and I can't let myself get hurt again."

Exasperated, Kurt closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "I'm not saying you have to stay. I just- your doctor said you should at least have someone with you for twenty-four hours after the test. It's barely been _twelve_ hours since and I already talked to Isabelle about taking the day off tomorrow so you can stay here and not have to worry about going across town."

Blaine stared at the front door, the frown on his face deepening. "Why... why are you doing this? You didn't do this before."

"Well... maybe it's because I realized that I fucked it all up before and I don't want to hurt you anymore, okay? I know we're not together right now - _I know that_, but honestly... at this moment Blaine, I'm trying to look out for you. I didn't like seeing you in the hospital any more than anybody else did and it'll kill me if you go home tonight and something happens when I just could have watched over you here."

Neither man spoke for a few seconds after that until Blaine finally looked away from the door and peered back up at Kurt, his hazel eyes darkening as he stared. "Why couldn't you have done this before? Why are you acting like this now after- after so long?"

"I..."

"Forget it," Blaine whispered. "Thanks for letting me stay, but I'm leaving once the twenty-four hour mark passes."

"I- Okay... _okay_."

With that, Blaine turned around and went into the kitchen, Jenny hot on his trail. Once he was gone, Kurt sat back down on the couch and dropped his head into his hands, a million thoughts, regrets, and ideas shooting through his head as he listened to the sound of his husband bustling around what was once _their_ kitchen.

* * *

**A/N: I know we didn't see anything of Kurt's therapy appointment, but I wanted this chapter to mainly focus on Blaine's test and what was going on there with him and Kurt. Plus, now Kurt's got a lot of things to talk about with his therapist now, yeah? Anyway, I hope I didn't screw up that whole medical procedure scene. I watched a few youtube videos on it and I've seen it on tv shows on the health related channels in the past so hopefully it seemed slightly accurate. I hope you all liked this chapter though and my apologies if it sucked (seriously, I've been trying to keep my updates regular because I know I'll slack if I don't write everyday/update every other day, but these last few chapters have felt lagging to me and I dunno if I'm just having issues with my thoughts not coming out like I want them to or if it's something else all together - bleh!) Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

_The rumbling sound of thunder filled the air and Kurt blinked his eyes open, squinting as his sleep fogged mind tried to comprehend why he was even awake in the first place. Another clap boomed and the aftershock shook Kurt to the bones; he sat up and looked around the dark room, mind finally catching up to inform him that he was sleeping in the living room on the couch. Below him, he could see a soft light spread across the floor in the adjoining hallway and he kicked his blanket away from his legs, rolling off of the couch with ease to step into the hall. The light was coming from the kitchen, which was odd because Kurt was a hundred percent sure he clicked all the lights off when he went to bed that evening, but when he peered into the kitchen, he was stunned at what he saw._

_Blaine was sitting on the floor, leaning against the stove, his legs pulled up to his chest as close as he could get them (which wasn't much with his rounded belly.) His face was shining in the light and when he heard the noise of Kurt's footsteps pausing in the doorway, he looked up, showing off the gleam of fresh tears on his pale cheeks._

_"Blaine?"_

_The younger man sobbed, dropping his head into his arms as he wept and Kurt immediately fell to his knees, scooting across the tile towards his husband._

_"Honey, what is it?"_

_"I'm so scared," Blaine cried, his shoulders quaking with each tight breath he struggled to take in. Kurt shook his head and sunk down flat onto his bottom, gently pulling Blaine into his arms, a hand rubbing up and down the other man's spine._

_"About the amnio results?"_

_"What if they find something? What if he's sick or- or if he- he's-" He couldn't finish his sentence, instead bursting into loud cries that eerily mixed into the tumultuous sounds crashing outside. The late March thunderstorm seemed fitting for what was going on in Blaine's mind (as well as Kurt and Blaine's marriage) and Kurt only reflected on it for a second before he leaned his head against Blaine's curls and sighed._

_"Blaine, you have to think positive. It's only going to stress you out if you keep on thinking the worst."_

_"Well, what c-can I think? N-Nothing's gone right in this pregnancy so far," he whimpered weakly and for the first time, Kurt could feel how scared Blaine felt - his husband was literally trembling in his arms, terrified for the health of his unborn child and was completely shattered by past events, still blindsided by the awful occurences that befell him earlier. The entire time Kurt had been around Blaine in his pregnancy, something had gone wrong, the only bright side was those few short weeks that they had tried to reconnect with one another - every other week was pure devastation._

_It was no wonder Blaine was freaking out now; he had come to expect the worst whenever anything happened._

_"Oh honey-"_

_"I just want him to be okay. H-He's all I have."_

_Kurt's heart just fucking shattered. His lips pulled downward and his skin actually ached with how repulsed he was with himself. Blaine was practically vibrating against him, crying hard into his shoulder, and all Kurt could feel was the rush of bile that burned the back of his throat. He bit back the tears that he too wanted to sob over his failure as a husband and tightened his grip around Blaine's shoulders instead, holding the love of his life close as burning hot tears ran down the sides of his face and dripped into Blaine's hair._

_"He'll be okay, Blaine. He'll be alright."_

_Another thunderous roar resonated outside, loud enough to make the apartment feel like it was quaking and Blaine curled in closer to Kurt, his stomach going flush against Kurt's thigh as he pressed in. Kurt could feel the cool wetness of the chilled tears on Blaine's chin as well as the flutter of waterlogged lashes against his neck; he cupped the back of his husband's head and nuzzled his hair, humming quietly as he held him close. Blaine's shaking subsided after several minutes, the calming drone of Kurt's voice lulling him quiet and when the last of his sniffles filled the otherwise silent air, Kurt pulled away and looked down at him, blinking his stinging eyes to lock his gaze onto Blaine's tear-reddened hazel ones._

_"You okay?"_

_"I don't know. I just- I don't know what to think right now."_

_"You shouldn't be freaking yourself out like this," Kurt whispered, running the pads of his thumbs under Blaine's eyes. He rubbed away the wetness from Blaine's cheeks and gave him a sad smile when the younger man shuddered at his touch. "What time did you wake up?"_

_"I couldn't sleep. I w-woke up around one because of the storm and I thought I'd get something to eat, b-but he started kicking me and it just reminded me of everything... I don't know."_

_"He's kicking?"_

_"Yeah," Blaine said shyly, all of a sudden going bashful under Kurt's awed look. Kurt stared down at his husband's swollen belly, his heart racing at the thought that their baby was big enough now for Blaine to feel him kick and for some odd reason, a hot flame of jealousy ran up his spine. He couldn't even explain it, that odd, unexpected feeling that he did not deserve whatsoever, but as he stared at Blaine's stomach and thought about the baby moving around in there, he wished that he could feel it too._

_Blaine dropped his gaze when Kurt went silent across from him and it took Kurt a few moments to regain his composure before he stood up from the floor and offered Blaine his outstretched hand. "You should try to head back to bed," he suggested as he pulled Blaine to his feet. It was only when he hefted Blaine up that he realized how much things had changed with his husband's body - Blaine felt heavier, his once light, lithe body had been so easy for Kurt to just pick up and toss into bed or roll over during a heated makeout session. Now the weight of their growing baby could be felt (not by much - Blaine still seemed underweight for how far along he was, or at least Kurt thought he looked tiny), but just feeling (and seeing) that Blaine had put on weight started to put things into perspective. In a few months, Blaine would be carrying a full-sized, six or seven pound infant and he would most likely put on fifteen or so more pounds... and he would look adorable. Smiling at his thoughts and ignoring the strange look Blaine was giving him, Kurt reached out and took his husband's hand, gently tugging him out of the kitchen and shutting off the light as they left, heading towards their bedroom. He helped Blaine back onto the mattress and took a seat on his side of the bed, leaning against the headboard as Blaine blinked up at him._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"I'm going to stay in here and make sure you get some sleep. You're going back to bed, Blaine. No arguments."_

_"Okay, mom," Blaine mumbled with a roll of his eyes, but he still pulled the blankets up around his shoulders and closed his eyes not long after, his breath evening out within minutes. Kurt watched him sleep, as creepy as it seemed, but he couldn't help but look at how much Blaine had changed during the last month or so. His hair was longer and much fuller than it had been, his skin was dewy looking and clear (though tear-stained), showing off the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose, and his eyelashes looked longer as well, their gracious length casting long shadows across his cheeks in the pale moonlight._

_Heart fluttering, Kurt reached out and stroked his hand along Blaine's hairline, running his hands through the curls that he loved so much. "I love you, my... brave handsome bushy haired husband," he murmured into the quiet night, the sound of Jennycat purring by his feet and the early spring rain plinking against the windows covering up his whispered confession._

::::::::::

"Hello?"

"Hello, Blaine?"

"Yes?"

"Hi Blaine! This is Mary from Doctor Banes' office! I'm calling about the results of the amnio you had the other day-"

"Oh-"

"I've got good news! Your results came out normal. Everything looks fine and the baby's healthy."

The heavy weight that had settled on Blaine's shoulders after he first heard that he needed the test seemed to melt away instantly and he dropped down onto the couch, biting back a happy sob as the nurse continued talking.

"The levels in your previous blood work are fine as well and everything's looking great - the only thing Dr. Banes wanted me to tell you was that she wanted you to try to take in some more calories because you're a little underweight for your pregnancy range, but other than that, everything's fine."

Blaine smiled, wiping away the happy tears that wet his cheeks, "Yeah, yeah, can do. Th-Thank you so much."

"No problem, sweetie. You have a nice day, okay?"

"You too," Blaine said, pushing the button to disconnect the call. As soon as his screen faded back to its normal wallpaper (one of the newest ultrasound photos of the baby), he dropped his head into his hands and cried, so thankful that everything was going to be alright with his precious little one. As he sniffled, a rapid flurry of movement fluttered around on his right side and he chuckled, "Hello to you too." He laid a hand on the side of his belly and grinned brightly, eyes focusing in on the screen of his still-lit phone. He stared at the random app shortcuts on the main screen and pressed his thumb down on the contacts button, scrolling through his list of friends and family until he spotted the one name he wanted to see.

Still beaming, he hit call and brought the phone to his ear, listening as the ringing buzzed in his ear until a beautifully musical voice answered on the other end, "Hello? Blaine?"

"Kurt-"

::::::::::

The baby was okay.

Kurt set his phone down on his desk and leaned back in his chair, sinking against the soft cushions with a deep sigh. He had been terribly worried the last few days, especially when he woke up a few hours after the test to find Blaine sitting in the kitchen, gaunt-faced and crying hard. His husband had woken up from a nightmare involving the results of the test and Kurt spent the rest of the long night watching his husband sleep beside him, carefully making sure that Blaine actually got a decent's night sleep without waking up in fright again. The following afternoon when he woke up after dozing off several hours after the incident in the kitchen, he had been heartbroken to find that Blaine had left, but not before his husband had scrawled a note onto a post-it stuck it to the fridge - along with a copy of the baby's latest ultrasound photo.

_Thanks for last night and watching over me. Please give Jennycat double the love from me. I miss her and I think she misses my snuggles too. x Blaine_

Seeing that note and finding Blaine gone from his side of the bed only cemented how real and how awful their actual situation was (even though the photo was an added plus.) They weren't technically together anymore. They were separated, they were possibly finished, and the only other options they had were to get back together, live apart but stay married (and miserable, which seemed dumb but people did it all the time), or they could split apart for good. Kurt wasn't sure where Blaine stood on that account, but the idea that they may or may not get a divorce broke Kurt's heart even more and he _knew_ that that wasn't something he wanted.

But he didn't know how to fix it. Necessarily, he knew he could try to woo Blaine in order to win him back, but he also knew that Blaine wasn't that stupid nor would be just forgive Kurt at the drop of a hat. It had taken Blaine _forever_ to win Kurt's trust back after he cheated on him with another man and even though Kurt had still loved Blaine with all his heart back then, trust had to be rebuilt and feelings had to fixed and sorted... and there was no doubt in Kurt's mind that Blaine was just as distrustful of him as he was with Blaine after that whole horrid ordeal.

_He still loves you. He basically said so at the house the other night... but he's scared of you right now and rightfully so. He deserves better than what you showed him, Kurt, and if you want him back, you need to show him how much you care._ Picking his phone back up, Kurt twirled the device around in his fingers again before he unlocked it and scrolled through his contacts. A familiar number popped up immediately and he pressed the call button, smiling when the sound of a cheerful voice filled his ears.

"Hi, I'd like to place an order to be delivered, please?"

::::::::::

Blaine stepped back into the apartment, his hands full of a bright, gorgeous bouquet of flowers. The delivery boy had smiled when Blaine opened the door and then he held out the bouquet, glancing at Blaine's belly before his smile grew. "Delivery for Blaine Anderson-Hummel! Congratulations on the baby," he said as Blaine took the flowers and when the delivery had been completed, the young man told Blaine to have a nice day and then ran off. Blaine barely had the time to concentrate on the gift he had been given, having been so shocked that the boy genuinely seemed happy for him, but when the sweet fragrance of freshly cut flowers hit his nose, he glanced back down at the gift in his hands and swooned.

It was a batch of purple hyacinths, tied together with a pretty white ribbon. Blaine held the blooms close to his chest and inhaled, incensed by the pleasant scent. There wasn't a card on the flowers, but he had an inkling to who might have sent them. Smirking, he walked into the kitchen and carefully transferred the bouquet from their ribbon binding and put them into a tall, decorative vase on the island counter. Once they were soaking in some water, Blaine picked up his phone and went to text the person he was a thousand percent sure had sent him the gift.

Seconds later his phone chimed with: _You're welcome. I love you and I just wanted you to know how I felt._

Staring at the flowers, Blaine googled the meaning of purple hyacinths and was surprised to see that one of the meanings could be 'sorrowful' or that the bouquet was usually sent out as an apology for something hurtful. He stared at the pretty violet hued flowers for a while, heart racing as he thought about what _Kurt_ was saying with the bunched blossoms.

_He's sorry, Blaine. He loves you and he misses you and he's sorry._

Well, it was a start.

::::::::::

Days flew by following the drama that was Blaine's amniocentesis.

Kurt got swept up with work, busy day in and day out doing little errands for Isabelle involving the website and preparing for the launch of the summer line. April was in full bloom, complete with the usual spring rains and even though it hadn't freakishly thunderstormed in a while like it had weeks before, it was still wet and dark outside every single day and Kurt hated every minute of it.

Some mornings he would walk to work, umbrella perched in one hand, coffee in the other, and he would see families bustling about, parents holding their child's hand as they swung their little one over giant puddles. A lesbian couple passed him on the way home one evening and their little girl looked absolutely precious in a lemon yellow raincoat with smiling sunshine speckled boots and a matching hat. He could see her blonde curls pulled into two tiny pigtails and when she skipped by him, almost splashing him with dirty puddle water, she paused and apologized, grinning up at him with a gap toothed smile.

And Kurt wasn't even annoyed by it.

Instead, his mind went elsewhere, to images of him and Blaine walking through the rainy New York streets, their son toddling between them as they each held onto his tiny hands. His dream child had his eyes and Blaine's dark wavy hair and he was the most adorable thing he had seen. And that night, while Kurt sat alone in his living room listening to the rain outside, he opened his laptop and pulled up the webpages for a few kids clothing boutiques, letting his mind imagine his dream child wearing tiny sailor outfits or cute little cardigans with lobsters on them.

A few days later found Kurt in his therapist's office, going on and on about his feelings on the situation. He talked about everything that happened in the beginning - how he yelled at Blaine the second he found the pregnancy tests and how Blaine disappeared to Rhode Island for a month. He talked about Blaine coming home for Christmas and how, at that time, he was excited by the thought of becoming a dad, only to have his hope come crashing down following a terrible afternoon watching a co-worker's daughter. From there, he segued into that dreadful week of fighting and silence that resulted in Blaine getting hurt and almost losing the baby and by the time he got to the part where Blaine announced he was leaving, his therapist looked at him very seriously and asked: "When Blaine said that, how did that make you feel?"

And he just lost it.

He sobbed over how wretched he felt, how betrayed he originally was only to remember that _he _was the one who put them in this situation. He told her about how dead he felt that night when he came home and had to break the news to his parents about their separation and how it was like Blaine had died when he had to pack all of his things away and get them out of their house. By the time he was through telling her about Blaine leaving, his therapist started talking to him about depression and whether or not he felt like things had changed in his life now that Blaine was gone.

"I still love him with all my heart," he said wiping at his eyes with some tissues. He took a minute to blow his nose before he continued, "We haven't spoken in a while, but I want him back. I know he's scared of me. I know he's scared to be hurt again, but I keep on thinking about how much I hurt him and how I _never_ want to put him through that again... he's my best friend and the love of my life and even though I was terrified of being a father in the beginning, I feel like I really do want to try with him again. I want to show him that I'll be there for him and not break his heart anymore-"

"But you don't believe he will want to let you back in-"

"Yes! He's pushing me away like I did to him and I just want him back, but I don't know how to regain his trust."

Dr. Gartner nodded her head thoughtfully and changed the way she crossed her legs, writing something down on her clipboard before she looked back up at Kurt. "Did you and Blaine ever consider marriage counseling _before_ all of this? Before the fallout after what happened at the hospital?"

"I- uh, we- no, no we didn't."

"Do you think Blaine would be up to maybe _trying_ to see a marriage counselor with you? You said that Blaine still loves you as much as you love him and if that is so, it would probably be in your best interests to perhaps try seeing a marriage counselor. One of my colleagues is one of the best in the field and she specializes in counseling failing marriages. I believe that if you and Blaine were up to it, she would definitely be able to take you in. I could write a recommendation for you?"

"I- I could ask him," Kurt said softly, his fingers nervously picking at each other as he stared down at the floor. Across from him, he could hear Dr. Garten's pen scrawl across her paper and then he looked up, surprised to see a form being held in front of him.

"I still want to see you next week, Kurt, but I do think it would be in your best interests for you to discuss with Blaine about seeing a marriage counselor. It may help you tremendously."

"Okay. I will do that. Thank you so much."

"That's what I'm here for," the doctor said with a smile, dismissing the rest of the appointment to allow Kurt to go recollect his thoughts. Once the man was calmed down enough, they said their goodbyes and Kurt left the building with a little spark of hope in his heart that Blaine might agree to the counseling.

::::::::::

"No."

"What?"

"Kurt, I don't have _time_ for counseling. Like, okay, I get it that you're getting help and everything, but I have so much on my plate right now." Blaine linked his fingers together on the table and looked down at them, avoiding Kurt's eyes as his husband stared at him from across the table. The two of them were seated in a restaurant, one of the popular chain grills that Blaine liked a lot, and while they were waiting on their food, Kurt decided to bring up the idea of marriage counseling... and Blaine just shot it down.

"Blaine-"

"Kurt, seriously. I love you, I do, but I'm _seven _months pregnant. Time's ticking away right now and I still don't have anything ready for the baby. I haven't gotten him anything, not one thing for the nursery... no clothes, nothing. I haven't even scheduled any classes yet and Dr. Banes told me the other day that I should probably look into lamaze courses and baby care classes! I just don't have the time anymore."

"So you don't want to try to work on us?"

Blaine's eyes narrowed dangerously and Kurt realized all too late that he had said the wrong thing, "Don't you dare try to blame this on me, Kurt Hummel. Don't you even dare."

"Blaine-"

"No, Kurt!" Blaine hissed, his voice deadly quiet, but still serious. "I let you walk all over me in the beginning of this pregnancy because _you_ were unhappy and not _once_ did you try to work on us. You ignored me, you ignored _us_, and for you to sit here right now and tell me that _I'm_ the one who's not trying is really fucking dickish of you. How dare you."

"I didn't mean-"

"No, I got what you meant." Blaine made to stand up from the table, but Kurt grabbed his arm and held it tight, blinking up at his husband with teary eyes. Blaine stared back at him with an equally emotional gaze and Kurt shook his head, practically _begging_ Blaine not to leave.

"Please don't go. I'm sorry. I never should have said that-"

"Yeah well, you never should've broken my heart either, but you still did."

_I deserved that_, Kurt thought as he shrank back in his seat, his hand loosening its grip on Blaine's wrist. Blaine stared at his arm for a moment before he sat back down and Kurt sighed deeply, glad that the other man wasn't leaving just yet. "I'm sorry. I just- I miss you, ok? I love you so much and I've been seeing a therapist because I want us to work again and I _never_ should've said that to you because this is all my fault-"

"Kurt-"

"-and if you want to leave, then I won't blame you, but just... please stay? I haven't seen you in a while and I missed you and I just want us to have lunch together and not fight for one day, please?"

Blaine looked shocked at the admittal, but still nodded and went to rub at his belly, darting his eyes to the table. Kurt watched as Blaine's hands trailed over his bump and he smiled.

"Thank you."

"If it means anything, I- I... miss you too," Blaine whispered and Kurt grinned.

"It means everything. Thank you."

"You don't have to keep thanking me, Kurt."

"Sorry."

"And quit apologizing," the pregnant man laughed and Kurt chuckled as well, taking a sip of his lemonade when the giggles died down.

"So how did you last appointment go?"

"It went pretty well - _oh_, which reminds me to give you these," Blaine reached down into the messenger bag he brought and pulled out a handful of scans, sliding them across the table for Kurt to take. Kurt's heart immediately leapt into his throat as he stared down at the photos in his hands.

"You had another scan?"

"I know. I'm shocked too. Dr. Banes said that since my pregnancy had been such a rollercoaster ride in the beginning, she wants to stay on the ball with me so that nothing happens. So now every time I go have a hormone injection, I get a scan too. Thank god for our insurance because I would be _so_ poor right now if they didn't cover most of this stuff."

"Yeah, thank god," Kurt breathed, staring down at the photos in his hands. The baby was _huge_ now, his hands and feet looking so _long_ in the photograph, and Kurt could even slightly see his tiny nose and other facial features. "Wow, I can see his face."

"I think he's going to have your nose," Blaine whispered, looking up at Kurt through his long lashes and Kurt's heart skipped a few beats.

"Really?"

"Well, it definitely doesn't look like mine, that's for sure."

Kurt laughed and set the photos down in a line to study them some more. As he observed each and every picture (of which he noticed some were duplicates), Blaine explained to him that some were copies for Finn and Rachel, who he hadn't been able to see in a while since Rachel was busy doing shows and Finn was swamped with work. Kurt nodded and set the photos down next to his thigh, "He's cute."

"Thank you. You helped."

Kurt laughed again and bit his lower lip, carefully peeking up through his lashes to look at Blaine, who he found was staring right back at him. Heart pounding, Kurt couldn't believe what was happening - they were flirting, downrightly so, and when Blaine realized what he was doing, he looked away quickly, his cheeks reddening madly.

"Jennycat misses you, by the way. She keeps peeking into the study to see if you're there, but you're not and when she realizes that, she meows really loud. She's quite dependent for a cat." _By the way, I miss you too and I hope you know that._

Blaine frowned, "My poor baby. I'll stop by and see her sometime if you don't care."

"You know I don't mind. You can come over after we eat if you want."

"Oh well, yeah sure. I'd love to," Blaine answered, taking a sip of his ice water. The waitress came by with their food, setting a massive bacon cheeseburger and a plate of cheese fries in front of Blaine. Kurt stared at the plate with a raised brow, having missed when Blaine ordered the giant plate of food, but Blaine just rolled his eyes. "I had a craving for something greasy and cheesy and this seemed like it would hit the spot."

"But doesn't it just come with regular fries?"

"_Craving for cheese there_, honey." Blaine said, blushing when he realized the pet name he used. Kurt just smiled at him and Blaine went to pick at his cheese fries, ignoring Kurt's giggle when he popped a fry into his mouth and successfully coated the side of his mouth with gooey cheese. "Shut up, dummy. It's messy."

"I can tell. We should've asked for one of those bibs they give you when you order ribs."

"Shut up," Blaine laughed, throwing the crumpled up wrapper from his straw at Kurt's head. Kurt ducked and smirked triumphantly when the paper hit the back of the booth instead.

"Missed me, missed me-" He sang, pausing before he got to the _now you've gotta kiss me_ part. Blaine stared at him, his golden eyes flickering with a handful of emotions before he went back to eating his fries, and Kurt tugged at his collar for a moment, his body hot at the look his husband had just given him.

_God, he missed Blaine so much._

The two men ate quietly, Blaine noshing on his messy burger while Kurt chewed on his crab cakes slowly. As Blaine ate, he seemed to be off in his own little world, which gave Kurt all the time to sit and watch him. He watched as Blaine picked the pickles out of the middle of the burger and watched him scrape a bit of cheese from the edge of the bun to pop into his mouth. Usually Kurt would've been shocked at how Blaine was eating (if anything, Kurt was the messier eater out of the two of them), but just seeing Blaine carelessly stuffing his face was slightly endearing. And to know that the baby was the one who got him to order something he rarely ate (Blaine didn't do junk food _too_ often) was sort of precious.

He was still watching Blaine like a hawk when the other man snapped him from his thoughts, "Are your crab cakes not good? Because I've had them before, before I got pregnant, and they were pretty amazing."

"Nah, they're fine. I'm just- it's nothing."

"Are you okay? You're not still upset about the marriage counseling, are you? Because I'm not-"

"No, no it's fine. It's nothing. Keep eating. Don't mind me," Kurt said with a wave of his fingers and Blaine paused to study him for a little bit longer before he went back to eating his burger. After that, Kurt ate a little bit more even though he wasn't that hungry, but time sped by and within a half an hour, Blaine was completely finished (another shocker since Blaine was notorious for picking at his food and constantly taking home leftovers) and settled back in his seat while Kurt finished off his rice pilaf.

"I'm about 900 percent sure the baby really liked those cheese fries. He's, like, tap dancing or something in here," he gestured, pointing to his belly. Kurt stared at the round mound for a moment before he looked up to lock eyes with his husband.

"Can anyone else feel his kicks now?"

"I don't know. I haven't really been around anyone else but my doctors lately. I saw Barb the other day, but we just talked and I made some bars before I left. That's about it. Uh... you can... umm, try to see if you can feel if you want."

Kurt hesitated for a moment, dropping his eyes back to Blaine's belly. He thought about how far he'd come in the last few weeks, how he had been terrified at the thought of a child and now how he was warming up to it. Just seeing how much Blaine had grown in the last few weeks made Kurt's heart ache that he missed it all, that he ruined everything, but it seemed like Blaine was extending an olive branch of some sorts, inviting Kurt to come over and try to _feel_ their son kicking.

And it was the most awesome thing in the world.

"If you don't care-" Kurt started, only for Blaine to say, "No, it's fine." Slipping out of his side of the booth, Kurt rounded the table and scooted in next to Blaine, his nose immediately filling with the smell of burgers, cheese, and the unmistakable scent of Blaine's cologne. It was an awkward mix, but it worked, and it made Kurt long to be with his husband even more.

"Can I-"

"He's kicking over here," Blaine said softly, gently taking Kurt's hands to guide them to the right side of his stomach. Kurt barely had the time to notice how well Blaine was using his once injured arm before an assault of movement bounced against his hand and he froze on the spot.

"Oh my god-"

"It's weird, isn't it? Like, it's so much creepier for me, I guess because he's _in there_, but the fact that he's kicking hard enough for you to feel it is pretty crazy to me."

"It's- god, it's amazing," Kurt breathed, his voice so soft thanks to the fact that he was sure that if he spoke anymore, he was going to just start bawling. The tiny flutters of kicks against his hand felt so surreal to him, but it just glued itself in his mind that there was indeed a baby, a child made from the love he and Blaine shared, growing in there, growing and thriving and _living._ Kurt barely had the chance to catch his breath when Blaine whispered, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... this is just- it's insane."

"Tell me about it. I can't believe he's big enough now to kick like that. My poor organs are going to get beat up though, I can feel it-" Then he giggled, "Ha, _feel it_."

Kurt smiled, looking up at Blaine, catching the way the dim lighting in the restaurant caught on Blaine's face and how it made him look so handsome. His face was baby skin smooth, not a shadow in sight, and he looked like he was absolutely _glowing, _which was cliché to say, but it just described him perfectly. Blinking, Kurt focused in on Blaine's mouth, noticing the way Blaine had sucked his full, pink lower lip in between his teeth, which was something he did long ago when he was just _dying_ to be kissed... and Kurt couldn't help himself.

He leaned in.

"Are you guys going to need any boxes?" A voice interrupted from behind him and Kurt jumped, almost giving himself whiplash with how fast he whipped around to look up at their waitress. Blaine sat still next to him, shaking his head, and Kurt mimicked the action.

"No, I think we're all done. Can we get the check now please?"

"No dessert for you boys?"

"No, I think we're full. Do you want anything, Blaine?"

Blaine shook his head, still somewhat in a daze. "No, I'm fine thank you."

"Okay well," the waitress began, oblivious to what she just interrupted, "I'll go get your check - together or separate?"

"Together," Kurt answered at the same time as Blaine said, "Separate." Kurt shot a dark look to his husband and Blaine shook his head.

"I can pay for my own food."

"I asked you out, so I'll get it."

"Kurt-"

"One check please," Kurt said with an air of finality, smirking at Blaine when the waitress walked off. As soon as she was out of their sights, Kurt turned towards his husband and smiled at him, "You still want to come over and see Jenny?"

"If that's okay with you."

_Oh, it's more than fine with me,_ he thought. "Yeah, yeah, it's fine." _It's definitely fine._

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. We're getting somewhere right? Well kinda. I hope you guys don't hate me too much though for the almost kiss. It had to happen. Also, I pulled the therapy stuff from god knows where because I've never been to therapy and I'm not really sure what goes on there, but hopefully it was believable enough for you all. Anyway, I hope to get another chapter out soon (hopefully before I leave this weekend - family stuff.) I'm a little jumbled right now because I ended up getting some awesome news earlier in the week that only got overshadowed by bad news the very next day and then this morning, the bad news went to something worse, so things are like bleh right now. I hope to update before tomorrow afternoon but if I don't, prepare for an update on Monday. Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	21. Chapter 21

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter.**

* * *

_Kurt sipped his martini and leaned against the bar, eyes scanning the crowd of people who were mingling out on the dance floor. He had fled to the bar a few minutes before, after finally becoming too annoyed with the constant questions about the whereabouts of his missing husband. Guest upon guest (spouses of the other Vogue workers) had barraged him with questions about Blaine and how he was doing and after a while, the fake smiles and pathetic excuses for Blaine's absence became too much and Kurt went to get himself a drink._

_So, avoiding the crowds, he nursed his drink alone at the bar and watched as his co-workers went about pestering other people. Halfway through his martini, he realized that someone was standing right beside of him and almost jumped clear out of his skin._

_"Chase told me you and Blaine broke up."_

_Kurt looked up and found himself staring face to face at Chase's husband, Paul. The man was tall, blonde, and handsome (long ago, at first sight, Paul reminded Kurt of his old NYADA ex, Adam) and even though he seemed kind of intimidating with his massive muscles and young Paul Newman-esque looks, he was a sweetheart through and through. It was no wonder to Kurt that Paul would be the one commenting on his break-up with Blaine, Paul and Blaine had hit it off ages ago, upon first meeting, and just seeing Paul standing next to him now, Kurt knew he was probably going to ask what exactly happened._

_"We're separated right now."_

_"Are you guys divorcing?"_

_Kurt gripped his glass a little tighter and pursed his lips, "I don't know."_

_"I'm sorry to hear that. You and Blaine seemed like you were in it for the long haul."_

_"Yeah, well, things change," Kurt said sourly, downing the rest of his drink in one fell swoop. Paul reached out and patted his shoulder in sympathy._

_"Chase said you two are expecting your first. Blaine mentioned being a carrier before-"_

_"He's having a boy."_

_"That's awesome... but... you said _he's_ having a boy? Not _we_- Do you... do you not want the baby?"_

_Kurt set his empty glass on the bar and crossed his arms over his chest, "It's complicated, Paul. I just- I don't really want to talk about it."_

_Paul nodded beside him and finished his own drink, "You know, fatherhood isn't the easiest thing in the world, but it's the best job I think I've ever had. I mean, sure you don't get paid to take care of your little one all the time, but you're rewarded with thousands of things-"_

_"Paul, I really don't think-"_

_"Chase told me that he may have contributed some doubts to your ideas on impending fatherhood a few weeks ago, Kurt, and I'm here to say that even though he's right about some things, he completely told only the negative side of things when there's a million more positives to make up for that."_

_Kurt went silent and Paul continued on._

_"Officially adopting Anastacia was the greatest day of my life, you know? Well, next to meeting Chase and later on marrying him. I mean, I was a little depressed when I was younger that neither Chase nor I had the Reddin gene, but when we decided to try to adopt, it was something that we were excited about because we were going to give a home and a loving family to someone who might have not had it had we not stepped in. Luckily enough, we were blessed to get a beautiful newborn and while the circumstances behind her birth were not pleasant, she's still the most amazing person ever."_

_Kurt remained quiet, lower lip tucked between his teeth as he remembered Chase telling him about Anastacia's birth mother and how she had gotten pregnant while prostituting. She had given the child up right after birth because she couldn't take care of it and later on she fled the area and Paul and Chase had gotten the little girl. It was an all too common story in the Big Apple, but neither Chase nor Paul (especially Paul) cared about the circumstances since they had a gorgeous little baby to take care of._

_Paul went on, "There are days that I do wish I had some more alone time to spend with my husband, but then Stacia will smile at me or say _da-da_ and nothing in the world means more to me than that. Chase and I have our differences sometimes about stuff and I know he told you some things that aren't pleasant at all, but Chase is the worrier in our family. He freaks out about everything and is always afraid he's going to mess something up and sometimes I just have to grab his shoulders and hold him and tell him to take a breather before he gives himself a heart attack, you know?"_

_Kurt nodded. He and Chase got on each other's nerves sometimes, but they were so alike in so many ways that it was a little creepy._

_"And with Stacia, every morning she coos at me and babbles and she'll give Chase kisses before he leaves for work and it's like... _this is what life's all about_. Some people would rather spend their time alone, but I like my hectic little household. I love making meals for Stace and watching her make messes. I like watching her learn when she watches her favorite tv shows. I like seeing her grow and change and sometimes I wish she was still a little baby because she's walking and talking somewhat and it was like only yesterday we brought her home and now she's a toddler and it's scary... but it's so worth it, Kurt. It's so worth it."_

_"Paul-"_

_"I know I shouldn't be preaching at you about babies, especially since you're on the fence right now with Blaine and everything, but if the baby is the reason you two are splitting, just remember that having kids isn't all that bad. I promise you, it's not always a walk in the park, but it's still fun and there's no job in the world like being a parent." He put his empty glass on the bar and turned to where Chase was standing with Isabelle. "It was nice talking to you, Kurt. If you need anything, just give me or Chase a call, alright? We're here for you."_

_Kurt nodded and watched his friend walk away, his heart slightly racing thanks to the images that had been playing in his mind of his and Blaine's potential child. Everything Paul had just told him had revamped itself in his mind and instead of envisioning Paul and Chase with Stacia, somehow his mind substituted him and Blaine with a little boy who looked like a mix of them. Just the very idea of their son made Kurt's entire being ache. Turning, he waved his hand in the air and got the bartender's attention, ordering another two drinks._

_He definitely needed them now._

::::::::::

Blaine walked into the apartment hesitantly, still nervous to be entering his old home even though he had been invited by Kurt to come see Jennycat. Kurt called for Jenny, smiling when the cat slunk around the corner and immediately went to rub against Blaine's feet, meowing as loud as she could.

"Oh Jenny, my baby," Blaine cooed, bending over as well as he could to pick up the cat. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close, relishing in the soft, rumbly purrs that came from her chest. In the meantime, Kurt watched the two of them fondly, his eyes softening at the sight of Blaine and their cat reunited after weeks of being apart. It was obvious how much they missed each other and Kurt desperately wanted to tell Blaine to take her with him, but then he remembered the dangers of pregnant people owning cats and how if Jenny left, then all ties between the two of them would cease to exist (other than the baby, of course) and he wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with that yet.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Kurt asked, stopping his observance of the two to step into the kitchen. Blaine followed behind him and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Well, actually... can I have some water?"

Kurt went ahead and got out a glass to fill with ice and water for Blaine to drink. As he was doing that, Blaine sang to the cat, nuzzling his head against hers as he sang that silly 80s song to her that he always seemed to sing to her and her alone.

"I think she misses hearing that song," Kurt mused, watching as Jenny bumped her tiny nose against Blaine's chin.

"I miss singing it to her, that's for sure," Blaine commented as he kissed the top of the cat's head and placed her back on the floor. Graciously, he accepted the glass from Kurt and took a sip. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Kurt leaned against the counter and sipped his own water, eyes focused on Blaine as the man before him drank a hefty bit of his drink and went to wipe at his wet lips with his fist. Seeing the way Blaine's lips glistened in the brightly lit kitchen made Kurt's stomach churn and he bit his lip. _God, I wanted to kiss Blaine so bad._

"I guess I was more thirsty than I thought," Blaine laughed and Kurt chuckled along with him, frowning when a sharp buzzing sound interrupted their moment. Kurt's cellphone was humming on the kitchen counter, the screen lit up with a picture of Isabelle.

"Oh crap. I need to take this; I'm sorry. Is wanted me to conference call her today and I completely forgot about it."

"It's fine," Blaine said softly, waving his hand at his husband to shoo him away. "Take it. I'm just gonna spend some more time with J."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll be right back." With that, Kurt dashed out of the room and Blaine carefully lowered himself to sit on the kitchen floor, stretching his legs out to let Jenny hop in between them and lay down. She rolled onto her back and purred loudly causing Blaine to laugh at the sight of her.

"Oh my god, Jenny. I love you. When the baby's born, you're gonna come live with me, okay sweetie?" He played with the cat for a little while longer and about fifteen minutes after Kurt left, someone began pounding on the front door. Blaine darted his eyes to the hall, waiting to see if Kurt would come to answer it, but Kurt didn't show up at all. "He must've not heard it," Blaine said to Jenny, placing his hands behind him to push his top heavy body off of the floor. It took him a couple of tries to right himself, but he eventually got up and walked into the hall, peering into the peephole. A young man in a UPS uniform stood outside the door and Blaine opened it, smiling when the delivery boy grinned at him.

"Kurt Anderson-Hummel?"

"I'm Blaine, his husband-"

"Oh, oh okay! Well, would you mind signing here?" The man held out a tablet and Blaine signed his name, surprised when the delivery guy stepped back and pulled a dolly into their line of sight. On the cart was a giant box, as well as two smaller boxes, and Blaine's heart immediately leapt into his throat when he spotted the name _Babies 'R Us_ scrawled on all of the boxes.

"Oh my god-"

"Congrats on the baby, by the way!" The UPS man said. "I can see why you guys needed all this stuff." Blaine stepped out of the way for the guy to wheel the dolly into the apartment and carefully, the man unloaded the boxes into the living room and bid Blaine a good day before he left. Once he was gone and the front door was shut and locked, Blaine went back to the living room and walked around the pile of boxes, his fingers trailing along each edge of the packages. He had no idea what was in either box but obviously they were for a baby and at the thought of that, Blaine placed his hand on his growing bump and frowned.

_What was going on?_

::::::::::

Kurt walked down the hall, one hand carrying his phone and the other holding a list of things he had written down to stick to the fridge. He was almost past the living room when something brown got caught in the corner of his eyesight and he froze, backstepping to pause in the doorway. Three boxes sat in the middle of the living room, all of them labeled with _Babies 'R Us_ and beside them, perched on the edge of the coffee table, sat Blaine, wide-eyed in shock.

"Oh my god-"

"Kurt?"

"I didn't think this stuff was going to get here until tomorrow. Oh my god-"

"Kurt, what is all this stuff?"

"I- I- it's just some stuff I ordered the other night."

Blaine rubbed his hands over his belly, his eyes narrowed in doubt. "You ordered _baby stuff_ the other night? Were you drunk?"

"I was- I was tipsy, but I just- Blaine-"

"Kurt, this doesn't make sense."

"It makes sense to me," Kurt said defensively, allowing a ton of walls to slam up around him as he waited for the inevitable storm to roll in. Blaine didn't look too pleased; in fact, Kurt was having a hard time gauging his husband's emotions at all. There was a blank slate there in place of Blaine's usually emotion filled facial expressions and Kurt was instantly worried. "What's wrong with ordering things?"

"Did you do it on Ambien? Because-"

"I had a few drinks at a Vogue function the other night, okay? Call it liquid courage if you must, but that's what happened."

"So you drank and ordered baby things?"

"Yes."

Blaine stood up, hands falling from his bump to feel around the stack of boxes. Kurt watched him curiously. "Well, what did you order?" Blaine asked, pausing in front of the giant box, and Kurt swallowed heavily and stepped forward, tossing his phone and list onto the couch. Cautiously, he stepped next to Blaine and went to tear at the box, barely noticing that Blaine had disappeared until the other man held out a box cutter. "This'll be easier than you tearing at the box with your hands and ruining your fingers."

"Thanks," Kurt said quietly, slicing the cutter along the heavy tape. He pried the flaps open and peered down inside the box, glancing over at Blaine to see if he was looking too.

He was.

As gently as he could, Kurt began lifting things out of the box and setting them on the floor. Beside him, Blaine gasped at the sight of the items coming from the box - there were sets of bottles, boxes of diapers, pacifiers, a bottle warmer, a diaper genie, and other random baby items. After that box was emptied, Kurt went to the other two and pulled out handfuls of cute baby clothes. Blaine made a small noise at the sight of the clothing and Kurt dropped the pile back into the box, turning on his heel to check on Blaine.

"Honey, what's-"

All form of conversation was cut-off when Blaine slammed into Kurt's chest, arms curling tightly around his frame as he nuzzled into his shoulder.

"Blaine?"

"Oh Kurt," Blaine pulled back and Kurt could see where his golden eyes were shining with unshed tears. Sniffling, the younger man pulled away and peered down into the box, taking out the tiny baby clothes to hold in his hands. Tenderly, his fingers trailed down the smooth fabric and across the light blue stitching that had '_I love my daddy'_ written across the front. "They're cute."

"I couldn't help myself... I just- I thought you'd like it."

"You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted you to know that I'm trying... because I am, I really am. I'll tell you again and again how sorry I am for treating you like I did because you deserve more sorries than I can give you. I love you, Blaine, and I'm falling in love with this baby more and more every single day and with you and even though I broke us, I want to fix us too... if you don't care."

Blaine brushed his fingers along a tiny red and blue outfit that reminded him of his old Warblers uniform and he smiled sadly, "Kurt-"

"You don't even have to say anything right now if you don't want to. I know I hurt you and I know you're scared because I didn't treat you right, but- but I'll do everything I can to prove to you that I'm sorry and that I love you with all my heart and I have since that day you turned around on that staircase all those years ago."

Blaine sniffled and gently cradled the baby clothes to his chest, blinking up at Kurt as the other man knelt down to his level. "Kurt, I-"

"I love you."

"I love you too," Blaine whispered as he leaned in and bumped his forehead against Kurt's. Kurt smiled at him and reached up to cup his face, lightly pressing his lips to Blaine's hairline.

"We'll get through this. We've gotten through tons of things before this and we came out okay."

Blaine stayed silent, but he didn't move away from Kurt's touch at all. In fact, he tilted his head to rest his cheek against Kurt's and the two of them just stood there, breathing in one another. A few moments went by before Kurt finally pulled away, smiling shyly at Blaine before he dug back down into the box and pulled out a tiny baby cardigan.

"Oh my god! That looks familiar!" Blaine gushed, taking the sweater from Kurt's hands.

"I knew you'd think so! You used to have a cardigan _just_ like this," Kurt laughed as he watched Blaine unfold the miniature garment. It was a cream colored jumper with small red lobsters scattered all over it. The two of them chuckled at the cute little sweater, Blaine practically crying with laughter over how adorable it was and how he wished he still had his old matching one so they could dress up as twins. "Maybe we can find you a new one," Kurt suggested, taking some more stuff out of the box and setting it down on the couch.

Behind him, Blaine held the cardigan close to his chest and nodded, whispering under his breath, "Yeah, maybe we can."

::::::::::

_"Do you think it's stupid?"_

_"Do I think what's stupid?"_

_"That I'm going to ask Blaine to come to marriage counseling with me."_

_"Oh my gosh, Kurt, no. That's not stupid at all. In fact, you should have done that a million years ago. I don't even know why I didn't think of that - probably because I've never been married, but you know-"_

_"So you think it's not a dumb idea?"_

_"Didn't I just say so? If you think Blaine will say yes, then you have no reason to worry, hun. Actually, I think he'll agree anyway; he loves you that much."_

_"You really think so?"_

_"Quit worrying yourself to death and eat before I have to force feed you," Isabelle warned, pointing her chopsticks at his face. She waited until he took a bite of his sushi before she dug back into her tempura bowl. "Marriage counseling is a wonderful idea and you two will benefit from it immensely. If Blaine says yes - of which I'm sure he will, you guys will have the chance to hash everything out and move on before the baby comes, which would be for the best, I think."_

_"Why do you think that?"_

_"Well, do you really want to still be separated when your son gets here? I mean, there's labor classes and all that fantastic stuff to do before he comes and then you've got to be ready for the birth and everything - if Blaine wants you there, that is - and if you two are still broken up before all that, it'll just make things more stressful."_

_Kurt nudged his tuna roll, leaning his cheek against his other hand as he stared at the spicy orange mayo sauce that was drizzled all over his plate. "Things are already stressful now."_

_"But that's what the counseling is for."_

_"I know. I just hope he says yes. Part of me is terrified that he'll turn it down... because then I'll know it's definitely over and I'm not ready for that yet."_

_"You and Blaine," Isabelle started, pausing to take a drink of her tea, "are soulmates. You two complete each other and while you've had your ups and downs, you guys have gotten through it and came out stronger each time. I wouldn't be surprised if you guys do the same with all of this-"_

_"But I hurt him really bad this time."_

_"What you're doing right now, Kurt... going to a therapist and talking about the baby - that's you working on your issues to better yourself for him. What happened between the two of you was rough and painful and I know Blaine was hurt by everything, but you were also struggling, hun, and by taking action like you're doing now... that will only show Blaine how much you are trying for him. Blaine isn't an idiot, Kurt. In all the years I've known both of you, I've gotten to see you both grow and Blaine, while he does have his oblivious moments sometimes, he- he'll know that you're doing this for the sake of your relationship. He loves you quite a lot and even though you two hit a major bump in the road, he'll see what you're doing to fix it. He'll see."_

_"I hope you're right."_

_Isabelle shot him a look and then smiled, but Kurt caught the meaning behind the glance immediately:_ I hope I'm right too.

::::::::::

"Thanks for coming over today... and for coming to lunch with me."

"Thank you for buying lunch and making dinner... and letting me see Jenny."

"She's your cat too. You can see her anytime you want." Kurt paused outside of the door to the new apartment and frowned as he watched Blaine dig his keys out of his bag. It took Blaine a few seconds to locate his keys and then he slid the main one into the lock, easily opening the door. Kurt huffed, "That didn't take very long at all."

"I know," Blaine smirked, shoving the keys back into his bag. "This door is _nothing_ like the door at our place. It doesn't stick or jam or anything." He opened the door wide and turned to look at Kurt, a frown dusting across his face when he noticed the sad look on Kurt's. "Kurt?"

"Why do you keep calling the apartment _ours_?"

Blaine froze. He honestly had no idea he had even called the old apartment _theirs_ and as soon as Kurt called him out on it, it was like someone had dumped a whole bucket of cold water on his head. He was so embarrassed. "I didn't-"

"I don't mind. I really don't. It's just- this doesn't feel like home to you, does it?"

Blaine looked down at his belly and sighed, "Kurt-"

"I'm sorry. I keep pushing you and I shouldn't be."

"_It's not home without you_."

Kurt's eyes darted up, catching Blaine's for just a second before the shorter man looked back down at the floor. "What?"

"I've been here for weeks and it still doesn't feel like home to me. I miss you. I miss Jenny. I miss waking up in the middle of the night and having you asleep next to me. I miss waking up to Jenny laying on my legs. I miss being able to walk down the hall to the kitchen for a drink and _not_ running into a wall in the process. I just miss it... and it's lonely without Cooper here too."

"Oh Blaine-"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"No, don't apologize. This is my fault." Kurt stepped forward, closing the gap between the two of them as he pulled Blaine into his arms. Blaine curled against him, arms squeezing tight against Kurt's back and his belly pressing against Kurt's side. The telltale feeling of the baby kicking beat against his hip and Kurt smiled, pulling away to look down at his husband. "Blaine," He whispered as he cupped his hand beneath Blaine's chin and leaned close, his nose bumping Blaine's. "I just want you to know that I'm still fighting for us and that I'm so sorry. I love you so much and you never deserved what I did to you. Never. I will do whatever it takes to make up for what I did and I do want to be a part of your life again. I don't ever want you to feel alone or to feel unloved because of me ever again."

Blaine glanced up at him, long lashes fluttering as his gold-green eyes filled with tears. He blinked a bit and the tears spilled out, cascading down his cheeks quickly. Kurt used his thumbs to wipe them away and in the midst of trailing his palm against Blaine's cheek, Blaine pushed forward, his mouth closing onto Kurt's, all hot heat and terribly missed. Kurt's hand fell from Blaine's cheek to reach back and clutch the back of his husband's shirt, his lips moving against Blaine's as Blaine kissed him fully.

"Blaine," he panted, only pulling away for a second before Blaine tugged him back in for another kiss. Hands roamed along sides and tugged at hair for several heart pounding moments before Blaine pulled back, his breath heavy and faltering in the otherwise silent hallway. Kurt stared back at him, at his husband's kiss red, swollen lips and how debauched he looked; it was a look that suited him and one that Kurt missed seeing very, very much. "Honey?" He asked, noting the off look in Blaine's eyes as the younger man stood still in the doorway.

"Stay with me," Blaine murmured, eyes everywhere but on Kurt, but still, even without locking eyes, Kurt could see how scared Blaine was, how terrified he looked at the question he was asking. He didn't want to be alone (_it's not home without you) _and Kurt could feel the pain flowing from Blaine as he stood there, heart open. _Take it, it's yours_.

Kurt didn't know what to do. He wanted to stay; god only knew how bad he missed being with Blaine in every sense of the word, but he could see the hesitance behind Blaine's gaze. He could see how lost Blaine was in the moment, how much he missed _them_ but was scared to give Kurt all of his heart back considering how badly Kurt had broken it before. "Blaine-"

"I don't- just for tonight, please? I'm tired of being alone."

"I know."

Kurt stepped forward and let his hands fall to Blaine's stomach, pausing them over the active spot where their child moved. He met Blaine's eyes with his own and smiled, "I love you."

"So you'll stay?"

"Yes."

Blaine smiled in return and tugged Kurt into the apartment, their lips meeting as Kurt kicked the door behind them. It was the biggest chance Blaine had taken in the month or so they had been apart, but feeling Kurt's hands on his belly and feeling the emotion behind his kiss showed Blaine how much things were changing between them. He wanted this; he wanted their family back together again. And, even if it hurt him in the long run (of which he hoped it didn't), they would be together even if it was just for tonight.

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**A/N: Ooooh, my babies! What do you think's gonna happen next? Sorry for the delay everybody! I got home on Monday night and felt terrible (stupid flu) and I just now finally felt well enough to finish up this chapter. Hope you liked it. I'm so excited that we're almost at 300 reviews - that's insane! I'm so thankful for all of you amazing readers and that you guys take the time out to comment and discuss the story with me. You all are awesome and your comments are what keeps me writing. Thank you!**


	22. Chapter 22

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

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There was an unusual feeling on Kurt's chest, one that he hadn't felt in forever. It was warm and slightly heavy and smelled good, but it was also causing his right arm to go completely numb. Also, he was sure whatever it was on him was wet - his shoulder felt damp and kind of sticky. _Gross._ Scowling, he blinked open his sleep laden eyelids and turned his aching, tense neck, his face pressing into a head full of dark curls.

_Oh_.

Memories of the night before flashed in the back of Kurt's mind - _Blaine yanking him into the apartment, hands dipping below belts and under shirts as their clothes got discarded all over the hall_. When they had been both fully unclothed and were making out on the bed, Kurt instantly grew nervous as to what was going to happen. Blaine was staring at him with darkened, lust blown eyes, his fingers curled into Kurt's hair, and for a moment, all inhibitions flew out of the window. But then reality kicked in when Kurt leaned down to capture his husband's lips and ended up being stopped by a somewhat large, rounded stomach. Blaine had assured him that sex would be just fine and that he had nothing to worry about, but Kurt still fretted over the idea until Blaine rolled his eyes and pushed Kurt down onto the mattress while he hovered over top of him.

_"I love you," he said before he kissed Kurt's mouth again and with the reassurance that everything would be okay, the two continued their act of reacquainting themselves with each other._

Which would explain why Kurt was waking up with a sore body and next to a very naked Blaine. Blushing at the thought of what happened the night before, Kurt gently slid out from under his husband's grasp and sat up, yawning as he stretched his sleep stiff form. Next to him, Blaine slept on, huddled comfortably under the sheets and duvet, only his fluffy hair and the top of his head peeking out from the blankets. It had been so long since Kurt had woken up to such a sight and he smiled, reaching out to stroke Blaine's curls fondly. He sat there in the quiet for several minutes, relishing in the feeling of being able to wake back up next to Blaine again, but then a strange thought passed his mind. _Where was Jennycat?_

And then it all came crashing down...

This wasn't his home. This wasn't his bed. This was the place that Blaine came to live at after the two of them separated - this was _Blaine's_ place, not _theirs_.

The thought was like an electric shock. Kurt pulled his hand away from Blaine's hair and stared around the room, noting how bland it was - how there were no decorations on the walls and how bare it seemed. The only items of furniture were the dresser/vanity set, an entertainment center, and the bed. Nothing more. It was very barebones and hardly looked lived in, but Blaine hadn't been in the new apartment very long. Nonetheless, it still felt like forever in Kurt's mind. All those nights he spent alone at the other apartment felt like years compared to what he was thinking now; Blaine had been gone from his life (sorta) for months and yet, seeing how he lived here made it seem like Blaine had only been gone for days, like this was only temporary. Meanwhile, at _their_ apartment, all the little things that reminded Kurt of Blaine made it seem like Blaine had been away much longer.

Deep down, he wondered if it was because seeing Blaine's new life triggered a rush of scary emotions in him.

_Would it be like this forever? Would Blaine come back to him after this? What was the sex for? Was it just a one time thing or would Blaine want more? What was going to happen now?_

Kurt felt like the walls were caving in on him and he kicked the heavy blankets away from his feet, rolling off of the bed to pull on his boxer briefs. Behind him, Blaine slept on, unaware of the meltdown Kurt was having and for once, Kurt was thankful that his husband was a heavy sleeper.

He didn't need to see Kurt freaking out. He didn't need the stress.

Frowning, Kurt tiptoed out of the room and walked down the unfamiliar hallway, arms crossed tightly over his chest as he stepped into the chilly living room. The living area was just as desolate as the bedroom was. It had no style to it whatsoever, minus the matching set of the coffee table and the entertainment center. The sectional couch matched too, but there weren't any pictures up and the few things that Blaine had taken with him to use as decorations were still leaning up against the wall. Kurt stared at them, observing the black and white photos of Paris and New York and he remembered when he and Blaine bought the portraits. For years they hung in the hall and even though Kurt took them down later on to replace them with other photos, Blaine was still very attached to them and had Kurt keep them in storage because he wanted to put them up as soon as they found (and moved into) a newer, bigger apartment.

Now though, seeing the photos just leaning there against the wall gathering dust, Kurt wondered to himself why Blaine never put them up. Sighing, he rubbed a hand over the top of the picture of New York and grimaced when his fingertips came back laced with dirt. "Ugh," he groaned, wiping his fingers on his pants. He stepped away from the frames and continued to look around the apartment, frowning more when he noticed how much bigger Blaine's new place was compared to their old, run down home. The kitchen was twice the size of Kurt's and overall, it was much nicer. _Rent must be a bitch_, Kurt thought to himself as he disappeared back down the hall again and began peeking into rooms whose doors were closed. One room he was sure was Cooper's as it had all the furniture up, but nothing else. There wasn't any bedding or anything out. It was just a blank slate waiting to be decorated and just knowing that Cooper was going to be in town soon made Kurt feel sick. He and his brother-in-law did not have a relationship any more, obviously. Cooper was out for Kurt's blood now, especially after the whole hospital ordeal and while Kurt didn't blame him, it hurt to see their relationship crumble... _but not as bad as what happened between him and Blaine._

Ignoring the churning feeling in his belly at the thought of his husband who was still (hopefully) fast asleep down the hall, Kurt went back to checking other rooms, stunned when he realized all the extra space the place had. There was a room that looked like a study and of course, both of the bedrooms had their own bathrooms, which was pretty amazing in itself (_Cooper must be paying a pretty penny for this_), plus there was a bathroom off the hallway that made Kurt's skin prickle in jealously. This was the kind of apartment he and Blaine talked about when they discussed moving out of their dingy little place and into something bigger. At the time, Blaine had mentioned getting a place big enough for their future children and Kurt let the comment slide, but now, he could see why Cooper and Blaine chose the place. It was the perfect place to raise the baby and Kurt's thoughts on the matter only cemented themselves in his mind when he opened up a door on his right and found himself frozen in the doorway of what looked like what was going to be a _nursery_.

_Oh my god._

::::::::::

_"Blaine! Blaine, where'd you go? I swear, every time I turn around-"_

_Kurt huffed as he jogged through the aisles of _Bed, Bath, and Beyond_ looking for his missing husband. They were looking for a new theme for their bathroom and halfway through scanning a row of shower curtain displays, Kurt realized that his husband had become way too quiet, and when he turned around, he was met with nothing but bath towels and shower curtain rings - no Blaine._

_"Blaine!"_

_The other man was stopped at the end of another aisle, his body leaning forward against their shopping cart as he giggled at something that Kurt couldn't see. Rolling his eyes, Kurt stormed up to his husband and glared at the man when he realized what exactly had stolen Blaine's attention: there was a child sitting in the cart across from him, making silly faces and waving at Blaine while Blaine mimicked the toddler's actions._

_"Oh for the love of god! Blaine, what are you doing?"_

_"Look at how cute he is!" Blaine cooed, waving at the little boy as the kid waved back and giggled. The child's mother was busy trying to choose between a few curtain designs, so she had no idea what her son was giggling at, but after a certain high-pitched squeal, she turned and raised an eyebrow at both Blaine and Kurt, who was standing there as bored as could be. "Your son is adorable!" Blaine said with a smile, earning one in return from the woman across the aisle._

_"Thank you! Say thanks, Gavin!"_

_The toddler mumbled something that sounded vaguely like a thanks and Blaine laughed, giving one final wave to the family before he pushed the shopping cart towards the bathroom stuff, Kurt following right behind._

_"Well that was a waste of fifteen minutes," Kurt grumbled under his breath and Blaine scoffed._

_"That was not fifteen minutes. It was more like five. Stop being overdramatic."_

_"You know we're on a time limit, Blaine. We've got to get this stuff picked out before mom and dad come in and instead of you helping me, you're busy making faces at a baby!"_

_"He waved at me and said hello! What else was I supposed to do? Ignore him?"_

_"Uhh, yeah? We didn't come here to babble at children; we came here to get a new bathroom set."_

_Blaine rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing the cart to a stop in front of where Kurt had been standing before, "Your parents aren't going to care about what our bathroom looks like. We could put monkeys in there and they'd still love it."_

_"Monkeys, Blaine? ...really? Monkeys?"_

_"Yeah! Monkeys! Like this," Blaine pointed up to a shower curtain under the kids' bathroom section. It was white fabric with little monkeys, trees, and bananas all over it. "Look at how cute they are! We should do our bathroom in monkeys!"_

_"Yeah... no," Kurt said with an air of dismissal, going back to browse through the racks of shower curtain displays. Behind him, Blaine sighed again and muttered something under his breath. "What did you say?" Kurt asked as he turned around to raise an eyebrow at his husband. Blaine just batted his eyelashes and grinned innocently._

_"One of these days I'm gonna get my monkeys. You'll see."_

_"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, hun."_

::::::::::

Monkeys.

There were monkeys painted on the wall. The majority of the wall was painted with a mixture between blue and green and the trim and ceiling were both bright white. The carpet matched the ceiling and along the upper part of the wall near the trim were bold green vines that led to a tree painted in the corner of the room. Several monkeys of various sizes hung on the vines and on the branches of the tree and just looking at them sent Kurt reeling back to a time where he and Blaine had a mini argument about monkeys at _Bed, Bath, and Beyond_.

Now Blaine had monkeys decorating the baby's nursery.

He had gotten his monkeys.

Smiling, Kurt sat down in the middle of the room and looked around, still stunned at what he saw. Other than the wall paintings, there wasn't anything else in the room other than a dark cherry wood rocking chair and some books that were spread out, opened and marked, on the floor. Kurt scooted over to the books, which he realized were catalogs and baby books. A few ultrasound photos were scattered among the mess and Kurt ran his fingers over each one, frowning when he realized that some of them were shots that he hadn't seen yet - probably from the time period where they hadn't communicated after Blaine's hospital stay. Tears burned behind Kurt's lashes as he gazed at the photos of the baby; the small snapshots showed the little guy moving around in the womb and while he was a lot smaller in those photos than the ones Kurt had been given yesterday, it was still the most amazing thing Kurt had seen. Sniffling, Kurt wiped away the tears that slid down his face and he moved the pictures to the side to look at the pile of books Blaine had laid out. Various catalogs were marked with neon colored tabs and there were a few pregnancy books noted as well.

One of the books just so happened to be one that Kurt had ordered a few nights ago and mentally, Kurt made a few notes of what chapters Blaine had tabbed so that he could read over them too.

As he studied the items Blaine circled in the catalog (which mostly ended up being monkey related items), a small noise notified him that he had a guest and he cocked his head towards the doorway, his focus landing on Blaine, who was standing out in the hall now fully dressed and confused at what he was seeing. Kurt smiled at him, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Blaine whispered back, dropping his gaze to the floor as a blush crept across his cheeks. He crossed his arms over his chest before he looked back up at Kurt and stepped into the threshold. "So you found the nursery..."

"Would you believe me if I said I was looking for the bathroom?"

"Can't say that I would, considering there's a bathroom in my room," Blaine said with a chuckle, carefully lowering himself to the floor to sit next to Kurt. He leaned close to his husband to peer down at the open magazine. "You found my monkey stuff."

"I would say I'm surprised at the monkey theme, but I'm not. I remember our fight at Bed, Bath, and Beyonce."

Blaine laughed at the joke and nudged his husband's shoulder, "I can't believe you remember that."

"I remember lots of things you tell me."

"Obviously," Blaine whispered, his long eyelashes batting flirtatiously as he laid his head on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt tilted his head and kissed the top of Blaine's hair.

"I like what you did in here."

"I know I told you I didn't get anything, but I honestly forgot about the paint. Coop got the rocking chair though; he had it here already when I moved in... I uh, I got bored and Coop said this room would be perfect as the nursery and he already had the chair in here, so I decided to paint it. He's probably going to be pissed at me for doing this all while he's gone, but I was safe, so he shouldn't be too angry."

"Let him be pissed."

Blaine snickered, "If he is, that's his problem. It wasn't like I was in any danger. I bought baby-safe paints and I wore a mask and opened the windows and everything. It didn't even bother me and the room looks awesome, if I do say so myself, so it was worth it."

"It does look awesome _and_ I like the color scheme."

"Good! I actually picked out some bedding and stuff to match everything, even though the blue I used on the walls wasn't exactly the same color as the blues on the pictures in the catalog. Actually I... the blue I used reminds me of your eyes, so..." He trailed off, busying himself with rubbing his swollen belly. Next to him, Kurt sat speechless (and very, very humbled) by the gesture. He looked around the room at the aqua colored walls and then looked back at Blaine, finding his husband red in the cheeks.

"Why my eyes?"

"I love your eyes. I hope the baby gets your eye color... and your hair. Actually I hope he just looks like you all together."

"Blaine-"

"You're gorgeous, Kurt. I just hope our son will be as beautiful as you are. I imagine he will, but-"

"He's going to be handsome because you're his dad, Blaine. I hope he looks like you because _you_ are the gorgeous one, silly." Kurt gently placed his palm on Blaine's stomach and stared at his husband, shaking his head at the other man when Blaine rolled his eyes at the compliment. "I'm not playing, Blaine. You're so stunning-"

"I'm not. You are, Kurt."

"We could sit here and argue about this all day, so I'm just going to say that our son is going to be the prettiest baby." Beside him, Blaine gasped and Kurt blinked up at him in shock. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... you just- you said _our_ son. I don't think I've ever heard you say that before."

"I-" Kurt paused for a moment, racking his brain for any previous conversations he had with Blaine. He thought about them and frowned, "You're right... that was the first time. Wow, I didn't even-"

"You didn't mean to say it, did you?" Blaine said softly, his body slowly shrinking back and out of Kurt's reach. Immediately, Kurt panicked, sensing his husband slipping away from him at rapid speed, and he reached out, grabbing Blaine's hand firmly.

"No. No, I meant it! I really did, Blaine. If you'll let me, I'd like to be a part of both of your lives. I don't know if last night was a one night only thing for you or what, but I don't want it to be - I want to be with you again. I love you more than anything in the world and I know I hurt you and that's going to haunt me forever, but I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you and our child, I swear. I've been an idiot over the last few months and I don't deserve any forgiveness you've given me, but please, just know that I do mean it when I say I love you and our son. It took me longer than you to get to where we are now, but I care about him a lot. I really do."

Blaine was biting on his lower lip with his head lowered, but Kurt could see the tears that wet his lashes and trickled down to splash off of his nose. He squeezed Blaine's hand a little tighter and leaned in, kissing the side of Blaine's mouth; the salty taste of Blaine's tears spread across his tongue when he licked his lips and he smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry for springing all of this on you. I know you're still weary of me and-"

"I'm not... not really, not as much as before." Blaine's voice came out so quiet that Kurt had to strain to hear it, but even though it was quieter than usual, he was able to pick up on what Blaine was saying. "I wouldn't have brought you here last night if I still didn't want this... because I do. I never wanted us to separate, but... it needed to happen."

"And now?"

"And now," Blaine started, allowing his voice to gain volume, "I want us back together, but-"

Kurt's heart stopped. _But?_

"But I don't think I can move back in with you... not right now. I know we spent the night together last night and I know you're working on everything, but you're still seeing that therapist, right?" He waited until Kurt nodded to continue. "You still have a long way to go, Kurt. I know you're sorry. God only knows how you feel about all of this, but I still need to think about me too. The last time we did this, you- you slipped away from me again and I don't think I can handle that right now, not with as far along as I am."

"Blaine-"

"I'll work with you though. You said you wanted to go to marriage counseling... I'll go. I'll make time. We can go and talk to that doctor and maybe we can fix this to the point we can live together again, but right now, it's best if we stay apart."

Kurt nodded, even though it felt like his heart was being torn in half again. Hot tears leaked from his eyes and Blaine leaned in to wipe them away. He was also crying.

"We'll make this work, Kurt. We love each other and we'll fix this. Like you said before, we've gotten through tons of stuff and came out fine. We can do this too. It'll just be a little while until we can be around each other 24/7, you know? It doesn't mean I love you any less. I just have to look out for me and the baby, you know?"

Kurt pursed his lips, but nodded again anyway. Beside him, Blaine pulled him into a tight embrace and the two cradled each other, both of them still crying over how far apart they seemed, even though they were closer now than they were months ago.

It was a start, but hopefully they'd be able to sort everything out before their son was born.

::::::::::

Kurt went home a few hours after he and Blaine had their pivotal discussion in the baby's nursery. Blaine had given him a list of appointments for the obstetrician and also slipped him a schedule of upcoming labor and birthing classes that he was thinking about attending. Kurt read the list all the way through breakfast and when he got home, he tacked the papers up on the fridge so that it would be the first thing he saw whenever he entered the kitchen.

If he and Blaine were ever going to live together again, he was going to pull all the stops he could to win his husband back for good. The best thing to start with would be classes involving the baby and honestly, Kurt was excited to attend.

::::::::::

Two days after Kurt spent the night at the new apartment, Cooper called and announced he was on his way back to New York for good. His movie had finished filming and he had settled his Providence apartment's lease, so he could leave the very next day. Upon hearing that his big brother was coming back, Blaine immediately felt nervous.

He loved his brother, he really did, but he somehow felt like staying with Cooper was only going to be difficult, especially now that Kurt was back in the picture.

But no matter what Cooper said, Blaine knew Kurt was changing for good this time. No one who didn't want their child would spend a good hour or two talking to their significant other's belly like Kurt did right before he left. After their talk in the nursery and after having a quick breakfast, Blaine went back to lay down and Kurt climbed back into bed with him, lifting his shirt to rub at the bare skin on his belly. It was such an intimate act to Blaine (which was odd considering the two of them had had sex the night before), but for Kurt to have deliberately wanted to feel his son's kicks beneath Blaine's bare skin meant the world to him.

And Kurt seemed to enjoy it too.

_"Your skin's so smooth," he had commented as he rubbed his hand over the soft flesh. Blaine just smiled and covered his husband's hand with his own. He explained to Kurt how the hormone injections had been good to him and how he had been rubbing cocoa butter into his skin nightly. Upon his admittal to the belly moisturizing ritual, Kurt revealed that he wanted to try it as well. Which is what led to Kurt lathering up his hands with the lotion and smoothing it all over Blaine's stretched skin. "I love you," he murmured as he massaged Blaine's belly and Blaine whispered his affections back, dozing off not long after Kurt began touching him. Before he completely passed out though, he was able to catch Kurt softly singing to his stomach and right as Blaine finally fell asleep, he couldn't help but smile over the warm, calming voice he heard directed at his bump._

Now, Blaine sat in his living room, a pregnancy help book balanced on his belly as he skimmed through a chapter on nursery essentials. He pressed his hand over the hot spot where his son seemed to be dancing and smiled, "Having fun, little guy?" He teased, poking at his own side before he turned the page. The baby within him kept on fidgeting, little butterfly flutters filling Blaine's stomach, and Blaine just sighed, closing the book and setting it aside to pull a blanket over top of him. The second wind that had occurred with him earlier that day had finally faded away and now he felt like taking a nap, so he curled up in the quilt and closed his eyes, letting his mind travel to the time he spent with Kurt.

They were going to make it work, they just had to, and there wasn't anything in the world (other than the birth of a healthy baby) that Blaine wanted more.

::::::::::

"Good morning Isabelle! Hey Chase!"

Kurt walked into the conference room and sat down, sliding a tray of hot coffee across the table to his colleagues. Isabelle stared at him strangely, her lips pouted for a moment before she took her coffee and offered her thanks. Chase, on the other hand, drove straight to the point after noticing the smug look on Kurt's face, "Did you get laid?!"

A blush spread across Kurt's cheeks and Chase gave a little cheer. Isabelle seemed mortified, however, and she slammed her cup down on the table. "Please tell me you were with Blaine."

Kurt's eyes widened and he slammed a hand to his chest, "Excuse you! Of course it was with Blaine! Who else would I have slept with?"

"I... I'm sorry. I was just worried. I mean you two have been on the rocks and- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume."

"It's okay," Kurt said softly, reaching across the table to pat his boss' hand. "I think things are finally going to work out between us... and I couldn't be happier." When Isabelle smiled happily at him, he returned the sentiment and went to sip at his coffee again, listening as Chase congratulated him before going on a rant about their upcoming project for the website. The words his co-worker said barely set in his mind as his thoughts were filled to the brim with images of Blaine making love to him just a few nights ago and how beautiful his pregnant husband looked as he slept. He might have had to go back to his apartment after everything that happened, but he left realizing that he had made a huge step in their relationship. He and Blaine were still separated technically, but emotionally, they were still as deeply in love as they had been for as long as they'd known each other. Blaine now knew how much Kurt cared about him and their baby and all Kurt had to do now was move into position to show Blaine that he could be the best husband to him and the best father to their unborn son. They were going to go to counseling soon and shell out all of their issues, Kurt was going to accompany Blaine to his parenting courses, and finally (hopefully) they could move back in together and put this whole awful mess behind them once and for all.

It was like things were on the fast track to getting better and Kurt was all for that now. Being able to re-bond with his husband felt amazing, but being able to see how much Blaine had changed and grown for the upcoming arrival of their son made everything more astonishing. Blaine had always been a brilliant person and Kurt had always admired his love's passion for things and his natural talents. But now, seeing Blaine pregnant and glowing and transforming really slammed it home how much Kurt loved him and how much he wanted to be with him.

And he'd do anything to get Blaine back. _Anything_. And, as of right now, it felt like he was going on the right path to getting him back as well.

Smiling, Kurt jumped back into the conversation and added his own opinions about everything, his mind (and heart) finally feeling like giant weight had been lifted off of them. Everything was going to be fine. He and Blaine were going to work on it and get back together and raise a beautiful family together and it was going to be great.

Kurt was never more excited.

* * *

**A/N: Bleh. Writing this chapter made my brain hurt, but the boys are getting somewhere aren't they? Yay! Next up, Cooper's gonna be coming home and Kurt and Blaine have some more talking to do. Oh, and before I forget, I need to ask all of you lovely readers a question... which sort of birth would you prefer? It's a weird question, I know, but I've been reading Klaine mpreg fics forever (you should all check them out, btw - as they are all amazing) and I've noticed certain people have certain preferences. So, for my sanity (I have two very different scenarios running through my head right now), what would you guys like to see? Do you want it to be a normal birth (as in since Blaine doesn't have the proper parts, he'll just have a c-section) or do you want to me to jump into the realm of Blaine developing the... erm, necessary parts (since he is taking injections and all) and ends up giving birth naturally? Like I said: weird question, but I'm heading into the chapters where Blaine is going to be learning about the whole labor/birth experience and since you've all been such loyal, wonderful readers, I want to know what you guys are hoping to see. Honestly, I have both scenarios in my brain are similar minus the whole birthing part, so you wouldn't be missing much, but just let me know, okay? You can message me on here via the messaging system or say so in a review OR you can contact me via the tumblr that I am barely on - it is the same name as my pen name on here and if you do go the tumblr route, I will check it, don't you worry! Anyway, thanks again!**


	23. Chapter 23

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING. There's also a quote from Lady Gaga in here that I read in a magazine the other day at my grandma's house. I'm not associated with Gaga or anything as well.**

* * *

Cooper came home two days before Kurt and Blaine's first counseling appointment.

Blaine had been terrified to see his big brother, as awful as that sounded, but after spending a few weeks on his own and somewhat making up with Kurt, dealing with Cooper was a scary thought. It wasn't that he didn't love his big brother - he really loved him and appreciated everything Coop had done for him since his and Kurt's separation - _but_ Blaine knew that once Cooper found out about the reconciliation with Kurt, things were going to go hell in a handbasket. Which was why, right after Cooper stepped into the apartment and shouted his arrival that day, Blaine clammed up and conveniently _forgot_ to tell his brother that Kurt was back in the picture.

But two days later, as things would have it, Kurt showed up at the apartment an hour before the appointment and Cooper himself was the one who opened the door. Blaine barely had seconds to spare when he intervened and pushed himself between the two men, his arms outstretched and eyes pleading when he caught the sour look on Cooper's face that was directed at Kurt.

"You've gotta be kidding me! You've got to be fucking_ kidding_ me right now!"

"Coop, don't! I can explain!"

"Explain what, Blaine? Why your deadbeat husband- this- this _asshole_ is standing on our doorstep smiling and looking like he's having the best day of his life after all the shit he put you through? God! I should rearrange his face right now-"

Behind Blaine, Kurt muttered something under his breath and Cooper lunged forward again, only stopping when Blaine put both hands on the older man's chest and shoved _hard_. "Coop, stop it! _Stop_, I said!"

Cooper backed up but kept his face contorted in that angry scowl. When he was out of the way, Kurt reached forward to place a gentle hand on Blaine's side, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Blaine whispered back, one hand rubbing his belly as he looked back and forth between the two. Kurt appeared worried, his brows furrowed as he stared down at Blaine, but Cooper, however, looked absolutely livid. "Cooper-"

"You two made up!" He hissed, balling his hands into fists at the sight of Kurt's hand on Blaine. "You got back together and didn't tell me! What the _fuck_, Blaine! Has he been staying here too? What lies did he tell you this time?"

"Coop, please-"

"No! Hell no. Listen to me, Blaine: this is the same guy who yelled and screamed at you when he found out you were pregnant. This is the same guy who deliberately ignored you time and time again and broke your heart over and over. This is the guy who made it so that you had to be put in the hospital. This is-"

"Enough!" Kurt shouted, drawing his hand back from Blaine's waist to point at Cooper. "Okay, Blaine knows what happened. We talked about it and I'm _sorry_ and I'll be sorry for the rest of my life, but Blaine knows that and we're _working_ on it. I _know_ you hate me right now, Cooper, and you have every right to, but you have to understand that I'm _trying_ here. Blaine and I are going to marriage counseling-"

"And that's supposed to appease me how?" Cooper growled out, stepping closer to Blaine as if being nearer to his brother would make Kurt step back.

It didn't. Instead, Blaine moved forward. "It's not supposed to _appease_ _you, _Coop. This is my life!"

Kurt took Blaine's wrist within his hand and gently pulled Blaine closer to him as he calmly tried to intervene between the two glaring brothers, "We're hoping the therapist can help us sort out our issues, okay? I know Blaine is still afraid of getting back together - _I know that - _but I also know that Blaine loves me and I love him and our baby with all my heart and I know I hurt them both, but I'm trying my best to make up for that."

"Oh bullshit-"

"Cooper, shut up for just one second please!" Blaine hissed. He pulled away from Kurt and took Cooper's arms within his own, looking up at his big brother, "I'm an adult, Cooper. I can take care of myself and I know that you're worried about me and look, I get it, but you have to let me live my life. I appreciate everything you've ever done for me, especially within the last six months alone, but Kurt, he's- he's the love of my life and the father of this baby and I believe him when he says he's trying and I can see it in his eyes. He _is _trying, Cooper. He really is."

"How do you know that he's for real this time?" Cooper asked, his voice low and wavering; his blue eyes darted back and forth between his little brother and Kurt worriedly. Blaine squeezed his brother's biceps in reassurance.

"I know my husband. He's my best friend and has been for years and I trust him." Kurt made a weird noise behind both men and Blaine glanced up to gauge the look on Cooper's face. "I love him, Coop. I _trust_ him."

"You trusted him before and look what happened. What if-"

"If he hurts me again, then you can kill him. You have my permission." Another weird noise came from Kurt and Blaine turned slightly to offer his husband a sweet smile before he flipped back to hug Cooper. "Can we talk more once I get back? Kurt and I need to be at the therapists office by-"

"Yeah, yeah okay whatever. This isn't over, you got me? You and I are going to have a serious discussion when you come back and I want you to tell me _everything_ when you get home, okay? And you be careful out there. If you need me, call. You got that?" Cooper wrapped a strong arm around his little brother and squeezed him tight before he let go. "I love you squirt."

"Love you too."

"And I love _Chip_ also."

"His name's not going to be named _Chip_, Coop!" Blaine called over his shoulder as he stepped out of the apartment and took Kurt's hand. The two men walked down the hall to the elevators and Blaine leaned against Kurt's shoulder, his eyes darting from the elevator to the door to his apartment to see if Cooper was peeking out and watching him. He wasn't, but that didn't mean he wasn't hovering near the door to see if he could hear either Kurt or Blaine talking about him. Smirking at his older brother's protectiveness, Blaine squeezed his husband's hand and smiled when Kurt kissed the back of his head. "Love you," he breathed when Kurt's free hand snaked around his waist to rub at his belly.

"Love you too," Kurt murmured back, kissing his neck. The elevator across from them opened and Blaine stepped inside with Kurt sneaking in behind him. When the doors closed, Kurt pressed Blaine against the wall and kissed him firmly, hands gripping at his husband's hipbones. He pulled away, breathless and smiling, "I've wanted to do that for hours."

"Just hours?" Blaine teased, kissing Kurt quickly before he began stroking his fingers over Kurt's knuckles. "I've wanted to kiss you for days, but I had to get things cleaned up for Cooper."

"He still hates me."

"Yeah, he does, but he'll come around eventually. He'll see all the effort you're putting into this and he'll forgive you sooner or later."

"I just- I don't know. We used to be closer and I ruined it."

"I told you, Kurt, he'll come around. Just give him time."

"You think so?" The doors to the elevator slid open and Blaine stepped out, his hand locked into Kurt's. They walked through the empty lobby and stepped out into the warm spring sunshine. A cool breeze wafted past them, bringing the scent of last night's rain and Blaine shivered, leaning closer to Kurt as they made their way down the sidewalk.

"Give him time. Cooper will get over it and he'll like you again eventually."

"If you say so."

"I do."

::::::::::

The marriage therapist that Gartner recommended Kurt and Blaine to see had an office not too far away from Blaine's new place, so they decided to make the trek from the apartment complex to the office instead of taking a cab. When they got inside and checked in, both men filled out the proper forms for the receptionist and then they waited for their time to come to meet the infamous Dr. Mayweather. The woman was tall and very personable; her long blonde hair was swept back into a loose bun and she wore gold round-rimmed eyeglasses that shielded her dark brown eyes. When Kurt and Blaine stepped into her office, she regarded them with a sweet hello and had them sit down on a plush burgundy sofa in the corner of the room. Kurt immediately sat stiffly, his back straight and rigid as he rested his sweaty palms on his knees. Blaine, however, made himself comfortable by slipping his shoes off, slumping into the cushions, and tucking his socked feet beneath him as he sat Indian style. Dr. Mayweather chuckled at him when he finally got seated.

"Having a hard time getting comfortable?"

Blaine blushed, "My hips are killing me. It's hard to sit still nowadays."

"Oh, I remember those days," the therapist reminisced. "You get so far into your pregnancy that your body doesn't know what to do with itself. Might I suggest trying prenatal yoga or a warm heating pad? It worked wonders for me with my last child."

"Oh my god, thank you. I was trying to figure out what to do, but I'll definitely try those ideas. Thank you!"

The woman smiled at him before she went to look at a stack of papers on her desk. For a moment, she scanned over the sheets and then she looked back up at the couple. "Okay, so I've already had a little chat with Blaine, as it says here that he's almost eight months pregnant, so you must be Kurt?" She shook Kurt's hand and then shook Blaine's before she took a seat in the high-backed chair in front of them. "So you two have had trouble with your marriage? How about we start from the beginning and go from there, okay? Tell me what's going on."

Kurt started off, his hands linked tightly in his lap as he talked about the discovery of the pregnancy tests and his reaction. He told Dr. Mayweather about his reluctance to everything in the beginning and how awful it was having Blaine away, only to come back and have them fall apart again because of _his_ fears. The entire time he spoke, Blaine sat stone still next to him, his amber eyes wide as he listened to Kurt talk about his feelings on the whole ordeal. Never had Blaine known Kurt's whole side of the story, about his fears of becoming a father or how scared he was for Blaine's well-being as well.

"And then," Kurt said, his voice shaky and thick with tears, "Blaine said he wanted to leave and I knew I really messed things up that time. But I was- I was just so scared. Watching Anastacia that day was like a horrible wake up call to how bad of a father I'm going to be in the future. I couldn't even sort out that the kid had a wet diaper and she wouldn't stop crying and I kept on thinking about how in a few months, I was going to have a child in my life that I _couldn't_ give back like I could with Stacia and it freaked me out. So I took it out on Blaine - I started ignoring him and I skipped a doctor's appointment of his because I was freaking out and that's when he got sick. By the time he started getting better, I had already ruined everything and- and we haven't lived together since."

"And that was about two months ago, correct?" Mayweather finished scribbling things down and then she reached over, grabbing up a tissue box to hold out towards Kurt. Kurt took a few handfuls of tissue from her with a quiet thank you and then the woman slid the box to Blaine. "Tissue?"

Confused, Blaine reached up and touched his face, surprised to feel how hot and wet it felt. He took a few tissues from the box and dabbed at his eyes, shocked at how drenched the tissues became once they touched his eyes. He didn't even realize that he had cried that much. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. We're here to hash out all of your problems and tears usually result from this. Usually if one of the parties _isn't_ crying is when I worry, but right now, seeing the emotion coming from both of you, I can see how much you guys want to save your marriage."

"We do. We really do," Kurt added, blowing his nose soon after. He waited until Blaine finished blowing his before he continued, "Blaine- he's been living in an apartment with his older brother since that day at the hospital. We've seen each other a few times since then and that's when we decided to take on this therapy, but we're still apart... and his brother hates me."

Doctor Mayweather nodded, "Can you explain your brother's relationship with Kurt, Blaine? Like what do you think is going on in your brother's head right now when it comes to your relationship with your husband?"

Blaine launched into the story of what happened that morning, as well as the things Cooper said over the last couple of days following his move back. The more he talked about Cooper, the more Kurt seemed to shrink back in his seat. Halfway through talking about staying with Cooper during the weeks after finding out about the pregnancy, Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hands into one of his own, squeezing them as he talked about the things Cooper had done for him.

The rest of the appointment went as swimmingly as expected. Blaine cried through most of it as he explained his heartache over Kurt originally distancing himself and not wanting the baby, and by the time Blaine got to how he felt on the day of his amnio, time had run out and Dr. Mayweather promised to start back up where they left off. She left the husbands alone to clean up and calm down while she went to get a fresh coffee and for the first five minutes she's gone, Kurt cradled Blaine in his arms and whispered multiple apologies into Blaine's hair. By the time the therapist returned, a full ten minutes after she left for her coffee break, both men were gone.

::::::::::

Blaine knew they had more to talk about following their appointment, so as soon as they left Dr. Mayweather's office, he took Kurt's hand and told him he wanted to go back to their old home.

Before they headed back, Kurt picked up some soul food takeout for them (blackened fish for him and meatloaf for Blaine) and they hitched a cab for the ride home. Blaine, unfortunately, had the task of telling Cooper he might not be home later - of which Cooper did _not_ take that well, but when they finally got back to the old apartment, Blaine shoved all thoughts of his angry brother aside when Jennycat came to greet him at the door. While he rubbed his favorite kitty-cat behind her ears, Kurt dished out their food onto plates and set the table, his eyes focused on Blaine and how cute he looked holding Jenny. It seemed like the more time went by, the more Blaine changed. The pregnant man was wearing a snug three-quarter sleeved black and grey striped shirt with charcoal black skinny jeans. He had shed his shoes the second he walked in the door, complaining of foot pain due to swelling, so he was standing around in a pair of grey socks, but overall, his attire was cute and looked great on his small frame. His belly was a lot more distended, having apparently grown a bit since the last time Kurt saw his husband a little over a week ago, and the sight of it made Kurt's heart beat a little faster.

Their child was growing at an exponential pace and within two more months, he'd be here.

It was mind-boggling.

Smiling, Kurt snuck past Blaine and put the silverware on the table, staring closely at his husband when Blaine gently placed Jennycat back on the floor and came to join him at the dinner table. "Looks good," he said as he sat down. Kurt took the seat across from him and smiled.

"_Sugah Mama_'s always has the best food. I haven't had it in _such_ a long time though."

"I actually had it a couple of nights ago. I had the craziest craving for collard greens, so I walked down there and got some."

"Oh, I wish I would've known - I didn't get you any greens. I'm sorry, I-"

Blaine rolled his eyes fondly and waved a hand to shush his husband, "It's alright. That craving's passed. I've been dying for some maraschino cherries though."

"I think there's an unopened jar in the cabinet. You are more than welcome to help yourself."

"I think I will after dinner," Blaine said around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Kurt smiled at him and began digging into his fish and the two of them ate in relative silence, the only sounds made were coming from the outside as people drove or walked by. Once Blaine finished eating, he sat back and placed his hands on his distended belly, quietly watching Kurt as he ate. Halfway through his own meal, Kurt paused and looked up at Blaine, frowning when he noticed the serious, studious look in his husband's eyes.

"Something wrong? The food not sitting right with you?"

"No, no, it's not that. The food was fine. I was just thinking, that's all."

"About?"

"I'd rather talk about it once you're done eating, if you don't care."

At the tone in Blaine's voice, Kurt's appetite disappeared completely and he shoved his plate aside. "I'm actually done. We can talk now if you want."

"Kurt-"

"No, no. I'm done. I'll just box this up for later." Kurt rose from his seat and went to put his leftovers away. When he came back into the dining room, he had a jar of cherries in his hand, which he placed in front of Blaine with a fork. "Enjoy."

"Oh my god, thank you." Blaine opened the jar and plucked out a few cherries with his fingers, ignoring Kurt's grumbling about him having been given a fork. "Mmmm! Oh my god, it's been so long since I've had maraschino cherries. Bless you."

"You're_ strange_, honey, but... moving on, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Blaine paused to swallow the fruit he was chewing, "Today at the counseling session, you just seemed... off. Like, I felt like you weren't telling her everything. I mean, I heard what you said about being scared of becoming a dad - of which we _will_ discuss more of that in a minute - but it honestly felt like you were holding back a little bit... and I don't want that to happen anymore. I don't want you to hold back your feelings and then implode like you've done before. I want to work on this and try to fix our family."

Kurt stretched his arms out on the table and sighed heavily, "Blaine, I don't know-"

"How can we get back together completely if you're still scared of talking to me? We won't work out if you won't talk to me, especially about something as serious as the reason to why you were so upset in the beginning. I mean, I believe you when you say that you're scared of being a dad - I am too, but there's something else. Doctor Mayweather might not have seen it or said anything, but I can read it on you, Kurt. There's something else."

Kurt shook his head and pulled his arms closer to him, crossing them over his chest as he sat back in his chair. "I don't want to tell you this because I don't want to hurt you."

"Just tell me," Blaine whispered and Kurt knew he just had to tell him; he couldn't lie to Blaine anymore.

"Blaine... I- the second I saw those pregnancy tests on the counter that afternoon, I wasn't scared by the thought of having a baby... not initially. My first thought was- it was... that the baby couldn't possibly be mine." Across from him, the pinging noise of something metallic hitting the floor sounded - Blaine had dropped his fork - and Kurt looked up, heart shattering when he saw the look on Blaine's face.

He was hurt, completely destroyed, and his eyes had instantly clouded over.

"You thought I_ cheated_ on you?"

"I didn't- I just... I was so _angry_ at the time, Blaine. I thought about the plans we had and how you getting pregnant couldn't have come at a worse time and then I thought about how you and I always used protection and how it couldn't be possible that the baby was mine because how could you get pregnant when I was wearing a condom every single time we had sex?"

Blaine was alarmingly silent across the table and Kurt uncrossed his arms to reach a hand out, hoping Blaine would take it. He didn't nor did he look up at his husband at all. Instead, he moved his body away from the table and curled in on himself, hunching over as he best he could to make himself seem smaller. The sight made Kurt's skin crawl with regret for even saying anything.

"Blaine?"

"You thought I cheated again. You... you don't trust me."

"No! I do trust you, Blaine. It was just an awful thought in the heat of the moment and I regretted it as soon as I thought about it because I know- I _know_ that you would never cheat on me again. I trust you so much and-"

"If you trusted me, then why did you think it? You only think those things when you don't trust a person anymore! Obviously you don't or can't or whatever with me. I'm _so_ stupid."

"No you're not, Blaine! I _never_ should have thought that about you. You've been nothing but trustworthy and faithful all these years and I _know_ you wouldn't cheat again. I know! It was a stupid thought and I regret it so much and I'm sorry that I thought about it. I'm so sorry."

Blaine sniffled, taking one of his hands away from his stomach to wipe at the tears on his cheeks. Kurt's hand was still outstretched on the table, but Blaine couldn't even look at it. "I need a minute," he choked out, standing up and storming down the hall. Kurt hopped up and ran behind him, pleading with Blaine to just take a moment and listen, but the other man just whimpered and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kurt froze and dropped down onto their bed, his heart in his throat as he listened to Blaine cry on the other side of the door.

::::::::::

Blaine crumbled to the floor and bawled; all the hurt and anguish that overcame him in the last several minutes spilled out of him in loud, broken sobs. He couldn't fathom what he had just heard. _Kurt originally thought that Blaine had cheated on him and that the baby wasn't his_ - sure, it was only for a millisecond and he regretted it so much afterward, but still the thought crossed his mind... and it hurt Blaine to the core.

For years he regretted what he did back in high school. There were even nights _now_ when he would wake up and be terrified that he and Kurt weren't together anymore, much like they had been during his senior year of high school, and every single time he awoke from one of those nightmares, it was because of the memory of the night he shattered the trust Kurt had in him.

And Kurt obviously still didn't trust him... and it _hurt_.

Shuddering, Blaine cupped a hand over the spot where his son kicked and squeezed his eyes shut. His heart throbbed against his ribcage and he knew he had to be shaking all over. It felt like he was spiraling downward, like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the carefully put back together heart that lay in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to be curled up in bed _alone_.

Somewhere outside the bathroom door, Kurt was lurking and he could probably hear every single sniff and whine his husband was making but Blaine barely had the attention to care - he was doing his best to calm himself down for the baby's sake, but every single time he'd get his breathing under control, memories of Kurt saying _the baby couldn't possibly be mine _came speeding into his thoughts.

_He doesn't trust you. He's never trusted you and he never will. _Curling his arms around himself, Blaine just couldn't stop the noisy blubbery cries that ripped from his throat. He would always be haunted by his past infidelity and there was nothing he could do about it because Kurt didn't trust him anymore.

If he ever had in the first place.

::::::::::

_"Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection."_ -_Lady Gaga  
She's right. Kurt will never trust me again._

Kurt could still see the words that he once spotted scrawled across one of Blaine's notebooks. He was helping his boyfriend (it was not long after they reunited) unpack his things at the loft when the book fell out of a box and spilled open. In it, Blaine had written tons of little things, stuff he scribbled down about Kurt, and on one of the pages in bold was that quote, along with a comment from Blaine. At the time, it felt like fire against Kurt's fingertips and he dropped the book back into the box it came from, never to bring it up again. But now, the words burned him and as he sat on the bed in their old room and listened to Blaine as he wept, he couldn't help but remember that quote scrawled out in Blaine's loopy handwriting.

No matter what he told Blaine throughout the years (and especially after that first year back together) about how much he knew Blaine would never cheat again, sometimes Blaine would just randomly apologize or break down and it started a never-ending vicious cycle.

Kurt wasn't dumb - he knew his husband had slight self-esteem issues, especially about his past infidelity, but over the last year or so, it was like Blaine walked around on thin ice with Kurt. He worried about his job, about his lack of success, and everything under the sun. The baby was just a brighter speck on the grim outlook Blaine had for himself and Kurt understood that now. But, as he sat on the bed and listened to Blaine cry, he knew that no matter how much he told Blaine that he trusted him a million percent, his husband would never ever believe it, especially after what Kurt just admitted.

The crack that Kurt thought he had fixed a dozen years ago came right back to the surface and for once, it wasn't Kurt seeing the cracks in the glass, but Blaine.

::::::::::

_"You know I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you. For the things I did when we were at Dalton...like- like Jeremiah and what I said about your sexy faces. And with the crap I pulled at McKinley - like stealing your lead role in_ West Side Story-"

_"Blaine, no-"_

_"A-And what happened with Eli. I will never be sorry enough and I just want you to know that. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you because I love you so much and I never should have hurt you like that. I was dumb and I don't deserve you."_

_"Blaine, stop."_

_"I've never deserved your forgiveness. I keep hurting you and you keep forgiving me and I don't know why-"_

_Kurt pulled Blaine close to him and sighed, kissing his fiance's sweaty scalp. "I told you a long time ago that I trust you. It took me a while, yes, but I believe you when you say you're sorry and I believed you the first thousand times and I'll believe you the next thousand, even though I think you should stop. That moment in our lives is over and now we get to make newer, better memories that shouldn't be tainted by our past issues. Plus you know damn well that I've had my fair share of problems as well, so quit worrying. I love you and I trust you and I forgave you years ago. That's all in the past now."_

_"But-"_

_"Shh, honey. It's all in the past. I love you."_

_"I love you too."_

_Kurt kissed the tip of Blaine's nose and smiled when Blaine's lips quirked upward. "There we go. There's my sexy fiancé."_

_"I'll never get over you calling me that."_

_"What... _sexy_?"_

_"No, your fiancé."_

_"Soon-to-be husband."_

_"I'll never get over that either."_

::::::::::

An hour after Blaine fled into the bathroom, the door creaked open and Kurt sat up pinstraight, eyes focused on the door as his puffy-eyed husband slipped out, arms crossed over his stomach and gaze directed at the floor.

"Oh Blaine..."

"I think- I think I need to go home for the night."

Kurt's stomach dropped, "What? Why? Why can't we discuss this? I don't want you to go, not like this. Not after you've been crying like that for an hour. You have to understand how sorry I am that that thought even came up."

Blaine blinked rapidly, fresh tears leaking from the corners of his eyes to spill down his cheeks. "No matter what you say, there's still the fact that you _thought_ it, Kurt. How could you think that of me? After all this time? You always said you believed me when I told you that I would _never ever_ cheat on you again and instead, the very first thing you think of when you find out I'm pregnant is that I'm having someone else's baby! How does that work?"

"I was scared, okay?! I regretted the thought as _soon_ as it came up and I feel terrible because I _don't_ think like that anymore. I quit feeling like that the night you and I got back together years ago and I haven't felt like that since-"

"Since you found out I was having a baby. Yeah, I know."

Kurt shook his head and stood up, slowly making his way towards his distraught husband, "My mind _never_ should have went there. I knew birth control could fail yet I still thought that and I'll never be able to explain it, but it doesn't mean I don't trust you-"

"_Yes it does!_" Blaine screamed, his hands shooting out from their position over the top of his belly to wildly gesture at Kurt. "You don't trust me! You never have! Why else would you have thought I was having someone else's baby if you didn't expect me to hop in someone else's bed at the drop of a hat?!"

"Blaine! I'm sorry! God, I don't think I could ever express how I sorry I am, but you have to understand that it was just a second thought and I shot it down just like that."

"Then why didn't you want the baby in the beginning?"

Kurt stepped forward, stopping short of touching Blaine when his husband held his arms out to keep him away. Just seeing Blaine pull away from him made his entire body throb in pain and his eyes watered, "I was scared, Blaine. We were going to talk about that, remember? But then this came up and-"

"I... I don't think I can do this right now," Blaine interrupted, head shaking from side to side as he walked backwards and headed toward the door. Kurt wasn't about to let him run away from them, not right now, not after what just happened and he definitely was not about to let Blaine leave the house alone and overwhelmed. There was no fucking way.

"Don't go, Blaine. Please. Just stay here and we can talk about this."

"Kurt, I can't-"

"Yes, you can. Just stay the night, okay? We can talk some more and I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just please don't leave... please?" Wide-eyed and pleading, Kurt took Blaine's shaking hand (_oh god, he was trembling so much_) and held it steady within both of his. "I never wanted to hurt you again. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid this would happen, but you have to believe me when I say that I don't feel that way. It was a moment of sheer stupidity when the thought even crossed my mind in the first place and it never _ever_ should have happened. You've been the _perfect_ husband all these years and you've put up with my bullshit too many times to count and you _never_ deserved what I did to you... or that awful thing I thought about the baby."

Blaine's mouth was completely downturned into a permanent, awful looking frown and he looked like the very picture of a broken soul; his eyes were liquid gold framed by red, swollen eyelids and his lashes were clumped together from all the tears. His body was still vibrating with adrenaline and Kurt was afraid to let him go just in case the man would collapse to the floor. Tightening his grasp, Kurt slowly pulled Blaine toward him and encased his husband in his arms, his heart falling to his toes when Blaine let out the most pathetic sob and fell against him.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt whispered into Blaine's hair, hugging the shorter man tight as he murmured countless apologies against his ear. He held up Blaine's weakened form for the longest time, just crying his sorrows in Blaine's hair as his husband wept into his shoulder. It felt like they had taken a giant step backward with Kurt's confession, like they had stepped back into time on that horrible night when they were two heartbroken teenagers who had just broken up and even though back then, Kurt was the one who had been completely shocked, this time Blaine was the one whose heart had just been shocked.

Carefully, Kurt walked his sobbing husband towards their bed and sat the other man down, taking a seat next to him to pull Blaine down onto his lap. Blaine laid on his side, eyes wide open and glassy, but when guided, he still placed his head on Kurt's thighs and allowed his husband to stroke his hair.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry," Kurt continued to repeat as he stroked Blaine's hair away from his forehead. He continued the process well into the night until Blaine finally fell asleep and once that occurred, Kurt maneuvered his pregnant lover into position to sleep properly while he curled up behind him, resting his hands on Blaine's stomach to stroke the smooth bump. He laid like that for most of the night, quietly talking to the baby and occasionally dropping soft kisses to the back of Blaine's head as his husband sniffled in his sleep. He felt terrible for breaking Blaine's heart all over again and as he too began to drift away due to his exhaustion, he could only hope that Blaine would still be laying next to him in the morning when he woke up.

* * *

**A/N: Hello lovelies! Don't hate me for this chapter please! I know it spun around from good to bat shit crazy, but the boys have to discuss what exactly happened to get them to where they are now, yes? So, there's more talking to be done and of course, baby stuff and family stuff and all that jazz. Anyway, thanks for the feedback on the whole birth ordeal. For those of you who may have been confused about the whole 'developing the necessary parts thing', what I meant was: the development of a temporary birth canal, something that would dilate much like woman's cervix would and then it would just close up after the birth. Voila! I've seen it in other fics and it seems to have worked out just fine, in my opinion, but alas, I still haven't decided what to do with this one. Like I said before, I have ideas and I have a few chapters to go before all that fun stuff comes up, but still - it's a temporary birth canal, not a sudden onset vagina. Ha! Anywho, let me know what you thought and keep those birth related ideas coming in! Thanks! Oh, and we've hit a milestone with this fic - I've written over 100,000 words thanks to this chapter (which is the longest yet!) WOO HOO! A lot of that comes from author's notes and warnings, but whatever! 100,000 words, guys!**


	24. Chapter 24

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

* * *

Somewhere outside birds were singing, being generally noisy, and the sound woke Kurt up. He rolled over and pulled the blankets up over his shoulders, turning to snuggle into Blaine's arm when he froze and blinked his eyes open.

_Blaine wasn't there_.

His side of the bed was unmade and cold; the body that had laid there hours ago now long gone and with the sight of the ruffled sheets and kicked down comforter, Kurt's heart felt like it quit beating. Fighting back tears, Kurt sat up and looked around the room, horrified to see it was just as empty as it had been the day before when he had left to go pick up his husband for their counseling appointment.

_Fuck._

Blaine left. He was gone like Kurt feared he would've been when he woke up in the morning. It wasn't like he didn't expect it, but he was hoping Blaine would've stayed so that they could talk some more. However, that was it - it seemed they were over for good now all because of a stupid one second thought.

Sniffling, Kurt bit his lower lip between his teeth and shook his head at the idea that he and Blaine weren't ever getting back together. Yesterday made it seem like things were finally going to go back to normal. They had gotten so far with their therapy and before that, Blaine defended him when Cooper tore into him, but after admitting his first thought upon finding out about the pregnancy, things burst into flames.

And now Blaine was gone... most likely for good and it made Kurt feel terrible.

Sucking in a trembling breath, Kurt dropped his head into his hands and fought back the urge to weep (or scream and shout.) His skin physically ached with how terrible he felt and there was nothing more in the world that he wanted to do than throw shit and mourn for everything that happened, but then a voice came from somewhere in the room, startling him from his thoughts.

"..._Kurt_?"

The emotional man looked up, eyesight blurry from unshed tears, and stared in the direction where the unexpected voice came from. He blinked, allowing the tears to fall and his sight to clear and that's when he saw him: _Blaine_, standing in the doorway to the bedroom, looking like a scorned, abused puppy. He was looking at Kurt through his long lashes, head lowered as he stared at his husband sorrowfully and his eyes were glistening. "_Blaine_?" Kurt asked in disbelief, kicking the blankets away from his body to roll off of the bed. There was no way his husband was actually there, not after last night, but there he was in the flesh and Kurt was absolutely stunned. "Oh my god-"

Blaine stepped forward and met Kurt halfway, throwing his arms around the taller man as he whispered, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that. I- I'm so sorry!"

"No! No, you shouldn't be. I was the one who ruined it. I-"

"But I asked you to tell me and then I got mad and I never should have. I just- my emotions, they're so out there nowadays and I was being so stupid a-and dramatic!"

Kurt pulled away to look down at his husband, "You have to believe me when I say that I don't think you'd ever cheat on me again. That thought was just a second long and I've regretted it everyday since then and you never deserved that. Never."

"But I did," Blaine whispered, looking back down at his stomach. His fingers trailed over the swollen flesh and he sighed, "No matter how old we get, that part of our lives is always going to be there. I'm always going to be the one that cheated and broke your trust and even though you say that you trust me now, there's always going to be that doubt there."

"Blaine, no-"

"It will, Kurt. I'm the one who messed up our relationship back then and I broke the ultimate promise between us and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you yesterday, not for that." He stopped rubbing his stomach to grab Kurt's hands and hold them in his own. "I just- I just want you to know that I would _never_ ever do that to you again and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I would."

"You didn't. I just-"

"It's okay. I'm sorry I flipped out like that last night too. I was just... shocked, I guess. I thought we were past that whole ordeal, but when I got up this morning and really thought about it, I understood why you felt that way. I mean, you're right - we were using protection all the time and despite everything, no matter what you say or I say, there's always going to be that doubt a-and I placed it there, so..."

Kurt swallowed thickly and leaned his forehead against Blaine's, "I forgave you a long time ago and you've been nothing but faithful to me. I never should have thought that way when I found out. I can't even explain it. It just happened and it felt disgusting because I _know_ you and I _know_ how bad you felt back then and even though I forgave you a million years ago, my mind still went there."

"It's the doubt. It'll always be there."

"I think maybe we need to talk to our therapist about that too then because I don't ever want this to happen again, okay? I don't want you thinking that I'm thinking you're cheating on me every five seconds because I _don't_."

Blaine nodded, but the look on his face told Kurt that no matter what he said, Blaine was always going to have that dark shadow looming behind him, haunting him for the rest of his life. No matter what Kurt said, Blaine would always feel like a bad person and deep down, the ache that bloomed in Kurt's stomach made him feel awful for cementing it there. Sighing, he dropped Blaine's hands and pulled his husband in for another hug before he leaned back and pressed a kiss to Blaine's forehead.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A few hours. Like two, maybe? I felt sick so I got up."

"You got sick? How come I didn't hear you?"

"I went to the guest bathroom. I didn't want to wake you."

"Blaine-" Kurt groaned, taking the shorter man's chin into his hand. "If you aren't feeling well, I'd like to know, okay? Don't sneak around here because I want to be there for you." He used his other hand to feel against Blaine's forehead, "Are you still sick?"

"I'm fine. It was just nausea, but it's passed. I'm okay now."

"So you don't feel crappy anymore?"

"Oh, I feel plenty crappy," Blaine mumbled looking away from Kurt for a second, "but I'll be okay. It's just pregnancy stuff, you know?"

Kurt nodded, "Yeah, okay." But the truth was, he didn't, not when Blaine still looked like someone threw his heart in a blender and poured it back out into his cupped hands. Pathetically, he offered his husband a smile and then took his hands, pulling him back towards the bed to lie down. "How about we rest and then we can talk some more?"

"Okay."

::::::::::

Their _rest_ turned into an hour-long nap that Kurt ended up waking up from when Jennycat leapt onto his chest and scared the living daylights out of him. He rolled over to find Blaine's side of the bed empty again and he instantly panicked, stumbling off of the bed to rush over to the closed bathroom door. Quietly, he opened the door and peeked inside, frowning when he spotted Blaine sitting on the floor in front of the toilet, one hand rubbing circles around his stomach while the other was sprawled across the closed toilet seat.

"You got sick again, didn't you?"

"It's this stupid nausea. I don't know what's going on."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I just ran in here. It was otherwise puke in the toilet or on you and I don't think you would like _that_ as a wake-up call," Blaine chuckled dryly, licking his lips as he cocked his head to the side. His eyes lulled shut and he hummed for a second, "I'll be okay. I think it's just nausea from the heartburn I've had and everything. Like, it's normal, I guess, so I'll just get used to it. It _was_ nice having a break from being sick all the time though."

Kurt sighed in sympathy and plopped down on the floor next to his husband. "You know, I was googling stuff one day and they said that lots of heartburn means a baby with a full head of hair."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's an old wives' tale... that or this kid has my hair and if that's so, then I feel for him."

"Aww, I hope he has your hair," Kurt joked, laughing when Blaine groaned against his shoulder. "He'll be adorable, all curls and big eyes. Too cute."

"You're dumb, but I love you anyway."

"I love you too and I'm sorry you don't feel well," Kurt said softly. He kissed Blaine's temple and pulled his husband closer to him. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, but if you don't care, I wouldn't mind sitting here next to you for a bit."

"Whatever you want, honey."

::::::::::

When Blaine got to feeling a little better, the two men decided to venture out for something to eat. Kurt was dead set on having something home cooked, but Blaine was craving pizza, so they decided to order-in instead and while they waited for the pizza to arrive, they curled up on the couch together, Kurt timidly rubbing Blaine's stomach while the other man rested against him.

"Kurt?"

"Hmm?"

"What else is there that you didn't tell me... like, other than what you told me last night?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt questioned, running his long fingers through Blaine's hair while his other hand rested against the swell of his husband's belly.

"You never really... well, you never really explained why you were freaked out by the pregnancy, you know, other than what you said yesterday. Unless that was it because-"

Kurt shook his head, "You're going to think I'm an idiot when I tell you."

"I bet I won't."

"You will. It's dumb."

"I'd rather know than sit here in the dark forever," Blaine whispered. He rolled over and wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist, sighing when his husband shivered at the touch. "I'm not going to force you to tell me, especially if you're worried about me getting upset over it, but we'll have to talk about it one day, whether it be here or at therapy."

Kurt nodded and turned his body to move away from Blaine, waiting until his husband did the same. When they were both sitting up, facing each other, and situated, Kurt reached out and took Blaine's hands, squeezing them tightly as he launched into his perils over being a good dad. He told Blaine about how scared he was to become a father, about how he could _never_ measure up to the amazingness that was his own dad, and the entire time he talked, Blaine's facial expression grew sadder by the minute.

"Kurt-"

"I'm sorry. It's dumb. I told you... I'm just freaking out that I'll never be a good dad like my dad is and, like... what if, god forbid, something happens to one of us and the baby has to grow up with one parent? What if - _knock on wood_ - something happens to you and I have to raise him on my own? I could never be like my dad is with me with _our_ son. I just couldn't."

"You don't know that, Kurt," Blaine murmured as he stroked the edges of his husband's wrists. "You're going to be an amazing dad, no matter how doubtful you are about it all. Burt Hummel raised you and you've got all his good qualities _plus_ you have your mom's qualities - and I've heard _tons_ of stories about how lovely she was - so there's no doubt in my mind that you'll be a natural when the baby comes."

"Blaine-"

"No, wait. Just listen to me for a second." Kurt quieted and Blaine went on, ducking his head when Kurt's thumbs began stroking his knuckles, "I wish you would've told me this sooner because we could have talked about this months ago... but I _do_ understand how scared you are. I know you think I'm ready to go with having this baby, but I'm not. Not really. I'm incredibly excited, yeah, but I'm scared too - because what if I end up being like my parents?"

"You'd never-"

"You don't know that," he repeated, lips quirking when Kurt unlocked their hands to press his against Blaine's stomach. "My parents are the strangest people I've ever known and while I still love them... _even though I'm a million percent sure they don't love me anymore_, I- uh, I'm still terrified that one day I'll wake up and I'll be just like my father. That I'll get up one morning and all of a sudden despise my child and I _never_ want that to happen. When I was younger, my parents were about as attentive and loving as they could be and then one day, it was like they decided I wasn't worth it anymore. I _never_ want my child to deal with that, but I'm scared that it's in my genes or that it's, like, a learned behavior."

"If there's one thing I know, Blaine Devon Anderson-Hummel, it's that you are _nothing_ like your parents. I've been around them a million times, remember? And you've always been brighter and more loving and caring than both of them combined... and I'll never figure out how that happened because even Cooper is more caring than them and they _raised_ both of you! I just- _you_ will be an _amazing_ daddy, Blaine. I just know it."

"So you think I'd be a great parent, but you're doubting yourself when you are seriously one of the most amazing people I've ever known?"

"I never-"

"Kurt, honey... being scared of becoming a parent is inevitable. Everybody's scared, no matter how excited they are. I know you said you were upset that our plans changed all of a sudden and I understand that, but we'll make it through this. You and I together are a pretty awesome tag team if I do say so myself. We can manage this fear of change and the craziness of having to care for another human being as long as we stick together and that's why I want to work on this with you."

"Me too."

"So will you talk to Dr. Mayweather about all of the things that you told me?"

Kurt worried his lip between his teeth for a moment before he looked up and met Blaine's worried gaze, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll mention it as long as you mention your fears about becoming like your parents too."

"I will."

"Good." With a soft huff, Kurt leaned forward on his knees and pressed a kiss to the side of Blaine's mouth, smiling when the other man kissed him back. "I'm so glad you stayed this morning."

"I am too."

::::::::::

_"Happy Thanksgiving boys!"_

_"Happy Thanksgiving mom!" Blaine and Cooper said together, smiling when their mother placed an oval platter full of turkey on the table. The woman offered her sons a sweet smile before she took a seat at the end of the table and began passing around bowls of food. Everyone filled up their plates and just as they were about to dig in, Cooper made a remark that seemed to set everything off._

_"Sucks that Kurt couldn't be here with us today."_

_"He's really busy with work, but he wishes he could be here."_

_At the other end of the table, someone scoffed and Blaine looked up, rolling his eyes slightly at the man sitting there. His father made another disgruntled noise in the back of his throat before he took a sip of his wine and glared around the table, "You must be dumber than I thought you were, Blaine."_

_Blaine's eyes narrowed, his fingers tightening around his fork as he stared at his dad, "What is _that _supposed to mean?"_

_"It means that you must be pretty stupid to believe that Kurt's busy working when you know damn well that he doesn't like coming over here. Kid's a snob."_

_"Okay, first off, Kurt doesn't mind coming over here any more than I do, and secondly, he's not a snob. He's just really busy with deadlines and we technically should've stayed in New York for the holiday, but I insisted on visiting everybody, so he agreed even though he's swamped with work."_

_"And he couldn't have taken ten minutes of his _valuable_ time to come say hello to his in-laws?"_

_Blaine rolled his eyes again and set his fork next to his plate, "We were going to stop by here tomorrow after Black Friday shopping, but if you're going to act like this, then I think I'll just stay at the Hummels."_

_"Of course," the eldest Anderson grumbled, a deep scowl painting his face. "Go stay at the precious Hummel house. Not like you haven't done enough of that over your lifetime."_

_"And why do you think I do that?" Blaine hissed, slamming his hands down on the table. Next to him, his mother and Cooper blinked in shock at the two volatile men and Mrs. Anderson went to intervene, but stopped when her husband waved a dismissive hand at her._

_"You will _not_ act like this in my household, Blaine Devon. You will not sit here and ruin your mother's and my Thanksgiving with your insolence. You are more than welcome to leave-"_

_"I didn't even do anything!" Blaine yelled, staring at his father in shock. "You're the one who started making comments about Kurt when he's not even here to defend himself. He didn't even deserve it! Just because he's missing dinner with us doesn't mean he didn't want to be here - he's working really hard right now and you know damn well why too, dad!"_

_"Don't use that language with me, Blaine."_

_"I'm twenty-six years old, dad! I fail to see how using the word '_damn'_ around you is a problem."_

_"It's a problem when you fail to show your father respect!"_

_"I'm not going to respect a person who bad mouths the love of my life every single time he can!"_

_Mr. Anderson sneered, "Oh please! Ever since you met that boy, you've changed, Blaine-"_

_"How would you know? You barely paid any attention to me after I came out anyway. The only time you noticed me was when it was relevant to your interests or if you found something new to try and make me straight... well, guess what? I'm an adult now and I'm married and in the future, I'm going to start a family with my husband and I'm going to be a damn good father because I'm not going to make the same mistakes you did."_

_"Get the hell out of my sight," his father growled out, pointing at the door. "You are not going to sit here and insult me in _my_ house. No way. You can take your snotty ass and go back to the Hummels and play house with them instead of enjoying a meal with me, your mom, and your brother."_

_"Fine. I'd rather be at the Hummels anyway. At least they know how to be a proper family-"_

_Blaine's underhanded comment seemed to ignite a fire beneath his father and the man snapped, "Of course! The _Saint_ Hummels! Go running back to them like you always do!"_

_"Darling, please-" Mrs. Anderson pleaded, darting her small hands out to try and keep her husband and youngest son from fighting each other. Both men were absolutely livid and on edge and it looked like there was nothing she could do; Cooper, on the other hand, just watched in amusement as his brother and dad stared each other down._

_"The Hummels have been more of a family to me than you have for years, dad, and I'm not going to sit here and allow you to talk shit about them, especially about Kurt. You know I love him more than anything - he's my husband and one of these days he's going to be the father of your future grandchildren and you should get used to the fact that he's here to stay!" Blaine rose from his seat and braced his hands flat on the table, leaning forward to fiercely glare at his father._

_Mr. Anderson made another disgusted noise in the back of his throat and gagged, "Don't even start with me about that abomination!"_

_"What?"_

_"Men shouldn't be able to have children together. It's disgusting and immoral!"_

_"I don't- what?" Blaine asked, eyes wide as he stared at his dad. He was sure his father had gotten over his whole homophobia deal, especially since he quit raising a fuss about his youngest being married to someone of the same sex (he still made remarks about Kurt though because he just didn't like him, for reasons unknown.) But he never knew of his dad's feelings on the Reddin gene and the fact that he had it. "It's... disgusting? I- what?"_

_"You heard me. It's bad enough that you have that stupid gene, but now you want to procreate with Kurt? There's plenty of perfectly good children out there that you could adopt."_

_"And maybe one day we will, but I'd at least like to have one that's a mixture of me and Kurt, you know? Do you- do you not even realize how landmark this is - that gay men can have children together instead of waiting years on adoption lists or having to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a surrogate? It's amazing and I'm proud to carry the gene that will one day give me a child that is not also a part of me, but also a part of my husband as well... and I thought you respected that."_

_"The fact that a man has to get hormonal shots just to carry a child to term is wrong. If he can't carry a baby on his own, then he shouldn't be allowed to have one."_

_"Excuse me?!" Blaine yelled, eyes wild as he blinked back tears over his father's words. He was red in the face from embarrassment and shame and his entire form trembled as he shook his head at his dad, "Me having a child and getting the proper help to carry it isn't any more abnormal or immoral than the fact that you've got to pop a little blue pill every night to help you out because you can't get it up anymore!"_

_Cooper barely had the time to choke out a laugh before his father leapt up and struck Blaine across the face, the younger Anderson stumbling backward from the force of the blow. The room went completely silent after that, everyone staring at each other and listening to the sounds of Blaine's stuttering breaths._

_"Blaine?" Cooper asked, looking back and forth between his brother and his dad. "Blaine, are you-" But Blaine rushed around the table, bursting through the entryway to the dining room, before he ran down the hall. No one got up to follow him and no one went to check on him when they heard the sound of him tugging his coat and boots on and grabbing his keys from the decorative bowl next to the front door. Finally, long after the sound of his car peeling out of the driveway faded into the night air, Cooper looked back at his parents sadly and frowned when his dad and mom went back to eating like nothing had happened._

_"Are we not-" He began to ask, only to get shushed by his mother._

_"Eat your dinner, Cooper Jay. Let's enjoy this Thanksgiving, alright?"_

_"But Blaine-"_

_"Is a grown man and he knows what he did. He never should've egged on your father like that," his mother stated plainly, carefully pouring a bit of gravy onto her potatoes. Cooper bit his lip and watched his parents for a little while longer, mostly ashamed at his mother for just blowing off the incident that just occurred between her husband and youngest child._

_It would be the last time all four Andersons would be together for a long, long time._

::::::::::

Cooper's hearing perked up at the sound of someone trying to close the front door very quietly. He sat up from his spot on the sectional and trained his ear on the sound of footsteps traveling down the hall. Otherwise the apartment was just broken into by a silent bandit _or_ his little brother was trying (and failing) to sneak in without notifying him. Listening carefully, Cooper smirked to himself when he heard the telltale sound of Blaine hissing when he accidentally bumped into the side table in the hall.

"Blaine, can you come here for a moment?"

A rounded belly showed up in the doorway before the rest of Blaine's body did and upon seeing it, Cooper barked out a laugh, barely able to calm himself down when Blaine stopped to a halt in the doorway.

"Number one: what's so funny? And two: how did you know it was me?"

"Oh my god, I- oh jeez, I can't- man-" Cooper puffed out, rubbing at his eyes before he looked back up at his brother. "Oh man! It was so obvious it was you. You're really bad at sneaking into places, squirt. Also, your belly is so big now - you started to step in here and your stomach came in first. Oh my god!" He began laughing again at Blaine's expense and his little brother rolled his eyes before he came to sit on the sectional next to him.

"I'm glad my fatness is hilarious to you."

"You're not fat. You're all belly, dummy. Stop whining." Coop laid back on the sofa and watched as Blaine shuffled around a bit until he found a comfortable spot to lounge. "Your hips still hurting you?"

"They always are nowadays. Plus I think I have heartburn. I feel like crap."

"You kinda look like crap. I was gonna blame that on Kurt, but since you said you had heartburn... umm-"

Blaine shook his head and rested both hands on his stomach, yawning as he leaned back into the fluffy couch cushions. "Kurt got me pregnant, but that's all. You can't blame him for everything."

"I can blame him for breaking your heart."

"Of which he is trying to fix, thank you very much." The younger man yawned again and closed his eyes, one hand gently stroking the top of his bump. "Why are you so hell-bent on hating him?"

"That's a stupid question and you know it, B."

"I don't think it's a stupid question," Blaine countered, eyes popping open to stare at Cooper. "You've never been this angry before, I don't think. Well, without pointing and stuff-"

"Oh my god, how many times do I have to tell you guys that I don't point anymore? That was _years_ ago and I'm a better actor now."

"Thank god," Blaine teased, smirking at his brother and snickering when the older man threw a throw pillow at him.

"Shut up. I'll have you know that my acting chops are practically perfect now. I'm in prime condition to win an Oscar or an Emmy soon and when I do, I'm not going to acknowledge you in my acceptance speech. I'll mention _Chip_ but he'll be the only one-"

"I'm not calling him _Chip_, Coop!"

"He'll come out and you'll take one look at him and instantly think: _Chip_, and it'll stick. And then you can tell him the tale of how his cool uncle Cooper came up with the name and he'll love me."

"You're an idiot."

"Don't hate," Cooper said with a grin. He stretched his long limbs out and stole back the pillow he originally threw at Blaine. Sighing, he laid down on the sofa and peeked up at his brother through his eyelashes. "How did your therapy session go?"

"It went okay, I guess. Kurt and I got into an argument afterward, but it was over something that got blown out of proportion..." He trailed off, his voice tapering to a quiet hum and Cooper shook his head.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"It's nothing. We talked about it and we've moved on, so there's nothing more to talk about on that front. Umm, we-" he paused, blinking back a few tears. Deep down, he hoped Cooper didn't notice, but somehow, his now overly observant brother caught the flutter of his lashes and frowned.

"I'm not gonna make you tell me, but he didn't hurt you again, did he?"

"The conversation we had was rough, okay? We talked about our original break-up and it just re-opened some old wounds, that's all." Blaine didn't bother to mention what really got him: the comment about infidelity, but the way he saw it was that it wasn't Cooper's battle to fight and it was mostly water under the bridge anyway, so he wasn't going to continuously bring it up. "We're going to be okay though. We have a long way to go, but hopefully things will be better before the baby gets here."

Cooper regarded Blaine's comments thoughtfully as he laid his head down on the throw pillow. Beside him, he could hear Blaine's hands moving over the fabric of his shirt as he rubbed his belly. Reaching up, Coop held his palm out and Blaine took it, putting his brother's hand onto his big stomach.

"You're not going to hate Kurt forever, are you?" Blaine asked and Cooper shook his head.

"Kurt's like a brother to me and even though he broke you, I still care about him. Yeah, I kinda still want his head on a platter, but I also want you two to be happy and you're happy with each other, so I can't really kill him, can I?"

Blaine nodded, but stayed quiet, observing the way his stomach pooched out with each one of the baby's strong kicks. He looked at his brother's large hand and how it cupped against the swell, "Why are you being so protective? You've never been that angry with someone over _me_ before."

Cooper sighed heavily. Letting his hand drop from Blaine's abdomen, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared up at his brother, frowning when he noticed the confused expression on Blaine's face. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, Blaine. _A lot_. I... I haven't been the best brother to you ever. You've always asked me to support you and while I have, it's always been behind the scenes. I've supported you a hundred percent since the day you came out, but I've never stuck up for you. When you were younger, I bossed you around, which is what big bros do, yeah? But then you started changing and you came out and then you got beat up and I really messed up there, didn't I?"

"Coop-"

"You were in the hospital for _months_, Blaine, and I was so dumb back then because I should've got my ass on the plane to come see you the second I got the call, but instead I finished that stupid tv pilot and then I saw you for a few days and left again. And then the next time I saw you, you were grown up and in love and I messed up then too! And after all that, after what happened with you and Kurt during your senior year and how heartbroken you were, I still didn't man up and become a good big brother."

Blaine bit his lip and Cooper continued on, "I came to your wedding, yeah okay, and I saw you every other holiday - or at least I tried - but it wasn't until that fight with dad that you had on Thanksgiving that I realized that I've been the shittiest brother. I mean, like _god_, dad was being a complete asshat to you and I just sat there and kept on eating. I never said a thing to him or mom and even after you left, I just sat there. I felt terrible about it and I still do because you deserved someone on your side for once and you never got it and- and well, I guess that's why I've been so vocal about this Kurt mess... because I'm trying to make it up to you."

"You don't have to make up anything to me, Coop."

"You deserve someone to fight _for_ you and alongside you and Blaine, you've never had that... not really, and that night you showed up in Providence, it was like I had the perfect chance to help you. Like yeah, I really ripped into Kurt and I've never acted like that around you, I know that, but at the time, I was just so angry. I expected better from Kurt and he pulled something like that and I was just so mad. But... you've told me time and time again over the last few days that you guys are working on it and I believe you."

"Really?"

"Yep. If he's going to be back in your life and if he promises not to hurt you again, then I'll go ahead and promise not to kill him... or threaten to." The older man scratched at his slightly scruffy chin for a moment before he regarded Blaine with a thoughtful gaze, "He is treating you right, yeah?"

"Yeah, he is. He's really trying hard. Umm, o-other than the setback last night, he's been perfect, so I'm not too worried. He promised me this time that he'd do better and I believe him. I trust him with everything, so-" He froze, yawning loudly before he blinked his sleepy eyes, "Sorry, I'm just tuckered out."

"Well, then perhaps we should continue this conversation tomorrow?"

"If you don't care..." Blaine watched as Cooper shook his head. When he realized that his big brother was telling him that it was alright for him to bail on their discussion, he slowly pushed himself off of the couch and stretched his aching bones. "I think I'm going to head to bed."

"Same. I just have to clean up in the kitchen before I go, but I'll see you in the morning, okay bub?"

Blaine smiled and nodded, turning on his heel to head to his bedroom. As soon as he was out of Coop's sight, the older Anderson picked up his cellphone from off of the coffee table and quickly pressed number three on his contact list. The phone rang a few times before the unique, high-pitched voice of his brother-in-law filled Cooper's ear.

"Kurt."

"Cooper?"

"I was just calling you to let you know that I talked to Blaine and he assured me that you two are in it for the long haul so if you are trying your best to make it work with my brother, than I guess I could try to be civil with you. If you aren't too busy tomorrow, you should come over for lunch and then you and I can have a chat while Blaine takes his afternoon nap or whatever it is that he does now."

"That sounds good," Kurt said quietly and Cooper spouted off a time before he bid his brother-in-law goodbye and hung up. Carelessly, he tossed his phone over the other side of the sectional and extended his limbs to stretch, eyes focusing on the cream-colored ceiling as he slipped into deep thought.

A few months ago, he never imagined seeing Kurt around again, not after what happened with Blaine and the almost miscarriage, but tomorrow, he was going to talk to his brother-in-law about everything and hopefully things would get better between the two of them. In fact, if Cooper really thought about it, he was quite sure things would be okay between them sooner than later, especially with Blaine's due date coming up so fast. Smiling, Coop sat up and rolled off of the couch, finishing what he had to do in the kitchen before he padded down the hall to his bedroom; halfway through his journey, he decided to make a pit stop and peeked into Blaine's room, happy to see his younger brother sleeping away curled up around the most awkward looking pillow. _I'll ask him about that in the morning_, he thought, gently closing the door and heading towards his room.

Behind him, cuddled up against his pregnancy pillow, Blaine snuggled into the cushion and breathed in the scent that lingered on it: _Kurt._ Just like it should be.

* * *

**A/N: You know what's rough? When you're closing in on the ending of a story and all of a sudden, another idea for a different story pushes its way through your brain and wants all of your attention. Seriously, I have a completely different mpreg fic running through my brain and it WON'T GO AWAY even though I'm almost done with this one. Like, it couldn't wait? Ugh. Hopefully I can get back on track with writing this one though; it took me FOREVER to even write out this chapter and I'm still not satisfied with it. Bleh. Anyway, thanks for the feedback and please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

**Warning: Discussions of birth in this chapter. If you aren't keen on birth... well then I'm not too sure why you're reading a fic about pregnancy to be honest. I'm kidding though - definitely not trying to be rude, you guys. Just warning you for talks about childbirth!**

* * *

Time seemed to fly by once Kurt and Blaine started going to their marriage counseling sessions. Doctor Mayweather did her best to help them sort out their issues and even though rehashing old, painful memories usually led to tons of tears, by the end of each visit, it was like a huge weight had been taken off of both of their shoulders. Two weeks into the regular sessions, Blaine told Kurt about the lamaze courses he had signed up for during the next few weeks. It was vital for him (and Kurt) to take them, since Doctor Banes recommended Blaine at least look into the baby care courses and learn a little bit more about the male side of childbirth, so he signed them up and he and Kurt had a class a few days before Kurt's birthday.

Of course, realizing that his husband's birthday was coming up also put Blaine into a tizzy over what to get him. Kurt insisted that he didn't need anything for his birthday that year, considering that their son was due in less than two months and would be a pretty awesome gift, although belated; but despite his insistence, Blaine spent a few days racking his brain for ideas... and then, after several grueling hours of fighting his pregnancy forgetfulness, he thought of something.

And it was going to be amazing.

::::::::::

"So are you nervous for this class or what?"

Blaine looked down at their joined hands, which were swinging back and forth between them, and he smiled. "I'm not too nervous. I think I'm more excited than anything. Like, what if there's another carrier couple there? Maybe we can make some friends and our kids can have play dates or something!"

"You're adorable," Kurt mused, smirking at his husband when Blaine rolled his eyes next to him. "I love you, by the way, and I'm so happy you asked me to tag along with you."

"You're my husband and the father of our son, of course I'd ask you to _tag along_ with me, dummy. You're supposed to be here as my support system and so that you can find out all the wonderful things you have to do while I'm in labor."

"And are you nervous for that?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow, "For what - _labor_? Well, yeah... duh. The idea that he's gotta come out of me somehow is pretty freaking terrifying if you ask me. I don't know what's going to happen and I really only have a general idea of how the birth is going to go. I did a little reading in that pregnancy help book, but then I got spooked and decided to wait until the classes started... I mean, I don't know, but the idea of childbirth scares me."

"You'll do fine."

"I hope so," Blaine murmured, humming in appreciation when Kurt squeezed his hand a little tighter and tugged him closer. "Oh, by the way... I love you too."

::::::::::

Their first class was... _different._

There weren't any other carrier couples there, just a handful of pregnant women and their husbands, so in the beginning, Blaine felt awkward standing off to the side with Kurt while his classmates stared at him and his big belly. Out of the whole group, he looked to be the farthest along, with his stomach large and looming and instantly, he felt self-conscious about being there in the first place. If it weren't for Kurt and the supportive hand on the small of his back that kept him grounded, Blaine probably would've turned and left the room to have a panic attack. Kurt, however, seemed to notice his fear and leaned down, whispering into his ear, "They're just jealous that we're the best looking couple here."

Blaine chuckled just a bit and let his eyes roam the room, frowning when he noticed a sneer graze the face of one of the moms. She was an older woman, possibly in her forties, who looked like she smelled something sour. Her husband, an equally older gentleman, stood next to her and regarded Kurt and Blaine with a nod before he turned to his wife and pulled her towards the other side of the room. Neither Anderson-Hummel missed the nasty look she shot them before she turned to follow her husband and once they were farther away, Blaine shook his head in disgust. "What was _that_ all about?"

"Some people are just- ugh, I don't know. Don't even pay attention to them."

"But he seemed okay with us and she looked at us like we're monsters or something. I don't understand."

"Don't even pay them any attention, Blaine. They aren't even worth our time." Kurt shot the couple, especially the woman, a dark look before he took Blaine's hand and guided him to an empty spot near the front of the classroom. They carefully took their seats on the floor after Kurt unrolled his yoga mat and Blaine scooted himself backward to sit in between Kurt's open legs. When they were all situated and comfortable, Kurt wrapped his arms around his husband and pressed a kiss to the back of Blaine's neck, smiling against the warm skin when Blaine giggled. "If anyone doesn't want us here, well they can leave because we're not going anywhere."

"You're right. I know."

The two of them sat there watching as the other couples got ready for the class. Another young couple slipped into the room and waved at a few of the other people there, but then the woman's eyes fell onto Kurt and Blaine and she beamed, rushing over to where they sat. "Hello! Are you guys new here?"

Blaine looked up, shocked that someone other than Kurt was talking to him, and when he caught the curious, kind look in the girl's eyes, he smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it's our first time here. I'm Blaine!"

"Hi. I'm Bailey and this is my boyfriend Jack. And you are?" She asked, looking at Kurt.

"I'm Kurt. Blaine's husband."

"Aww, you two are too cute. Do you mind if we sit next to you?" Neither man had the chance to say anything before Jack went to help Bailey down to the floor and once they had their mat out and were seated, they turned to the shocked husbands and began chatting them up a mile a minute. Within seconds, it was like Kurt and Blaine knew Bailey and Jack's whole life story: from the day they met (in Times Square during a tour) and the day they found out they were pregnant (which happened to be on Christmas morning.) By the time the couple was done talking and were asking about Kurt and Blaine's story, the instructor came into the room and shushed everyone, introducing herself and asking any new people (Kurt and Blaine) to introduce themselves as well.

Kurt ended up doing all the talking, considering Blaine had completely shut down at the idea of talking in front of a bunch of people (which was highly unusual for him since Blaine had always been the sociable butterfly type), but Kurt introduced himself and Blaine and told them how far along Blaine was and then the instructor bid them hello and began the course.

Over the next hour, everyone listened to a lecture about the last few months of pregnancy and the possibility of Braxton Hicks contractions. Then the woman showed them a few videos on the later development of a fetus before she segued into birth. "Okay now, since the majority of you are female pregnancies, I'm going to show a video of a natural female birth. Now, Mr. Anderson-Hummel, I do have a video for you that, if you'd like, I can show you in another room while I show this one _or_ you two can stay and watch this video and then we can watch the other one."

Blaine chewed on his lip, eyes darting around the room to the eyes locked on him, and he swallowed heavily. "Can we watch it separately please?" The instructor smiled at him and had Kurt and Blaine follow her into another part of the building where they ended up meeting up with another birthing teacher. The woman was older than their other instructor and she smiled giddily at them when they stepped into her classroom.

"You didn't tell me you had a carrier couple in your class, Anita?" The woman complained, jumping up from her seat to shake Kurt and Blaine's hands. She marveled at Blaine's stomach for a moment before she turned to bicker with her co-worker. While they chatted, Blaine slunk back and went to look around the room, eyes carefully studying the various posters and other informational papers tacked onto the wall. This classroom seemed to be more for male pregnancies and Blaine couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't directed here in the first place instead of having to sit through an uncomfortable course that mostly catered to female birthers.

"I bet you're wondering why you weren't brought here first," a voice asked from behind him and Blaine turned, catching the eye of the new teacher. "Anita's kind of a dolt sometimes. I apologize for her. She should've told me that you two were here because she knows damn well I'm more qualified with dealing with Reddin gene pregnancies than she is. She does try though, but I'm the more sought after one, so... here I am! I'm glad she brought you two to me though. You look about eight months, am I correct?" Blaine nodded and she grinned, "Fantastic! You've scheduled your courses at the perfect time! You don't have much longer now!"

"I know," Blaine said softly and the woman beamed at him again.

"No need to be so quiet, sweetheart. I don't bite." She looked over at Kurt, "Why don't you two set your mat down right in the middle over there and I'll get your videos set up. We're just going to take a look at various carrier births and then we can talk about them once we've finished the video, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine took Kurt's hand and the two of them took their places at the center of the room, eyes focused on the large tv before them. The new instructor, whose name was Laura, took a seat on the floor next to them and started the film, quietly making comments as the video went on. For the next half hour, Kurt sat there wide-eyed and horrified at what he was seeing.

"That really happens? I thought it was a myth."

"Oh, no no no." Laura said, waving her hand at him. "The temporary birth canal is very real, although rare. A male birth via the canal isn't a very common one because males only develop the canal during the transitioning period and it will open up just like when a cervix dilates, but some men cannot develop the canal wide enough to have the baby naturally. Now, if they can, once the canal has opened far enough, which is about the same as the traditional ten centimeters in a female birth, the male can start pushing to bring the baby down."

Blaine sat there in complete silence, lips pursed as the male on-screen screamed and birthed his child. Just watching the action made his entire lower half hurt and he slowly ran his hand over his stomach. _This is more terrifying than I thought._

Laura continued on, sensing the tense feelings coming from both men, "In later months, you'll start to feel your hips ache quite a bit and that means that the baby is preparing itself to be born. They'll drop lower and lower and since males aren't equipped with the parts to actually birth a baby, the gene you have - mixed in with the hormone shots you've been given to help you have a healthy pregnancy - will cause you to develop the canal. All males will start to feel the canal forming once the real contractions start, but many don't dilate far enough to actually birth the child from there, so a c-section is commonly performed, as we will see here." The scene changed from the father holding his just born, crying baby against his bare chest to a scene where someone was slicing through the flesh of another man's swollen stomach. Blaine's hand instantly clutched at Kurt's and Kurt kissed the tip of his ear, humming low in his throat to soothe Blaine's frayed nerves.

The instructor watched them closely during the last bits of the video and once it was over, she stood up and shut the dvd player off, turning to her two pupils with a gentle smile on her face. "I know what you two just watched was shocking, but it's a natural thing to experience within a male pregnancy. The last decade or so has been very miraculous in our field and we've been able to find out so many new things within carrier pregnancies that is just oh so fascinating. Now I know you're probably scared out of your mind, Blaine, but I promise you that once the time comes to give birth to your little one, you will be just fine. Pain when bringing a child into the world is inevitable, but most people find that it's worth it when their baby's in their arms, healthy and perfect, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way."

"I feel that way now," Blaine murmured, covering Kurt's hand where it rested on his belly. "I'm just nervous about the birth, that's all."

"And that is what I'm here for. Your doctor will be the one to make sure you're healthy during your pregnancy, but I'm the person who you can come to when you want to talk about the birth or anything else that you need to discuss. Sure, your doctor can answer these questions as well, but as a certified doula, I am also here for you if you need it." She walked over and pulled a few manila folders from a blue storage container and handed them to the seated couple. "For your next few classes, you two should come to this room first instead of going to the other class. Anita should've brought you to me earlier, but it slipped her mind, so we'll cut her some slack this time. However, next week when you come in - or if you just want to stop in earlier - then you should meet with me here. I'll be your male pregnancy fairy godmother, if you will."

Blaine looked down at the packet in his hands and offered Laura a half-smile, "Thank you. I really appreciate this."

"Well, I appreciate you too. I haven't had a carrier couple in my class for the longest time and you'd think there'd be more since this _is_ New York City, but the last one I had was four months ago and that was that. So, to see you two here... it just makes me so happy."

The three of them chatted a little while longer and then the sound of people making their way out of the building alerted them that the other class (their former) was leaving, so it was obviously time to go. Kurt gently tugged Blaine up and off of the floor before they said goodbye to their new teacher and left the building. Outside, the other couples were huddled together, quietly talking about their pregnancies and what not, and as soon as Kurt and Blaine stepped out of the doors, everyone quieted.

"Okay! Honestly," Kurt hissed, looking at the group. "What is wrong with you people? Have you not ever seen a gay couple? Or a carrier pregnancy? Because honestly, the staring you're doing is rude as hell and you're stressing out my husband and I don't appreciate it!"

"Kurt-" Blaine started, only to be shushed when Kurt threw an arm out to stop him from stepping forward.

The man from earlier, the one with the sour-faced wife, moved out of the group, "I didn't mean to- I mean, sorry if any of us made you feel awkward, but... we've haven't seen another carrier couple since..." He trailed off.

"Since what?" Kurt asked, his eyebrow raising as he regarded everyone with a dangerous look.

"Well," the man started, looking more and more flustered by the minute. "The last carrier couple we saw here started a lot of drama... they were only here for one class, but the father of the baby was an ex of another one of the moms and he left her for that guy so it just caused a lot of drama."

"And what does that have to do with us?"

"Nothing," the man said softly. He looked extremely apologetic that Kurt and Blaine were so weary of him and of what he said, but before he could said anything more, his wife stepped forward, the anger on her face contorting into something menacing.

"Oh please, Robert! Just look at them! They're no different from those fags that were here a few weeks ago!" A few gasps echoed from the group, Blaine included, but the woman didn't stop. "The only reason Anita moved them was so that we didn't have to deal with their crap like we did with those others! And thank god because the last thing I want my baby exposed to is _that_," she growled as she gestured at Blaine's belly. "I wouldn't even be surprised if they're just like that disgusting couple - that baby's probably not even his," she yelled as she pointed at Kurt. Blaine froze upon those words and Kurt lunged forward to begin screaming at the woman who had just insulted him and his husband. He was about to open his mouth when he heard a distressed noise beside him and he turned sharply, heart stopping when he watched Blaine's facial expression crumble into something pained and broken.

"Blaine-"

The other man whipped around and took off, darting down the street in the direction of the apartment and Kurt screamed out a few obscenities directed at the woman who just broke his husband's heart. Behind him, he could hear the group burst into commotion, but he didn't stay to listen, instead running as fast as he could to catch up to Blaine. It didn't take him long since Blaine was having a hard enough time with the pain in his legs, but when he finally caught up to his husband, he felt his heart shatter all over again at the sight before him.

Blaine was sitting on the ground, leaning against some random building, his head dropped into his hands as he bawled. Kurt immediately fell to his knees across from Blaine and pulled the younger man into his arms, "Oh honey."

"Why did she- why- why would she-"

"She's a stupid, ugly bitch who wishes that she could have what we do. Fuck her."

"But why- why would she want to b-bring a child into a world f-filled with such _hate_? We didn't even do anything t-to her!"

"I know. She's stupid, Blaine. She doesn't even deserve to be a mother. Hopefully that kid's dad isn't as much of an idiot as its mom is."

Blaine choked back a sob and shuddered in Kurt's arms, shaking his head back and forth as he cried, "Can we go home?" He whispered, clutching his hands into Kurt's shirt. Kurt nodded and helped him up, tucking his arm around Blaine's waist as they stumbled back to the apartment. It took them a few blocks to get home, but once Kurt got the stupid door to open and was able to get Blaine inside, he felt a million times better knowing that he and Blaine were away from the judgmental assholes out there who still thought it was fun to ruin other people's lives.

Later on that night, after finally getting Blaine calmed down enough to eat a little dinner, Kurt laid on the couch with Blaine laying beside him. It was a tight squeeze considering the couch at their apartment was smaller than the large sectional one at Cooper and Blaine's new place, but despite the lack of room, Kurt still felt better being able to have Blaine curled up so close to him. Blaine had finally fallen asleep after crying again over what the woman said and once he dozed off, sometimes whimpering in his sleep, Kurt laid in the silence and reflected on how _angry_ he was over what the woman said. Never in his life had he wanted to hit a woman so bad (and sure, there were times where he wanted to slap a girl, like with Rachel way back in their younger days), but he actually wanted to tear this woman limb from limb. Sure, he felt bad thinking that about a pregnant woman, but she was just _brutal_ in what she said to them and even though she didn't know their past history, she knew that making a remark that played on the unfortunate stereotypes that gay men were promiscuous would hurt them... and it did.

And it hurt Blaine exponentially.

Angrily, Kurt's nostrils flared as he struggled to calm his breathing. Blaine was sleeping beside him, their son was making tiny little flutters of movement that Kurt could feel against his side, and they were safe in their apartment... but it still didn't feel right. He wanted to scream and shout and throw things and have a fit, but he couldn't, not when Blaine was still very emotional about the whole ordeal. Not when Blaine was still struggling to fight with his overwhelmed pregnancy hormones and trying to navigate these last few months of his pregnancy. It was all too dramatic and ridiculous and Kurt hated that some unknown bitch had the power to ruin a whole bunch of progress that the two of them had made - because obviously her comment about the baby's parentage struck down deep in Blaine, otherwise he wouldn't have run. But, with her words, that bitch had cut into Blaine like a thousand searing knives and Kurt could see the damage right on the surface of his husband's face.

As he slept, Blaine's lips were turned into a deep frown and his brows were furrowed and it broke Kurt's heart to see. Over the last few days, they had been doing so well, joking and the like, and it was like things were going back to normal. They were happy and healthy and then _this_ happened... and Kurt could just hope that some random woman didn't fuck up his marriage again because he just couldn't handle dealing with anymore of this.

Sighing sadly, Kurt trailed his slim fingers through Blaine's (now) ridiculously shaggy hair and let his hand rest at the back of Blaine's neck.

"I love you," he murmured into his husband's curls as he allowed himself to finally fall asleep, pushing the plaguing thoughts of that night's events to the back of his mind. He wasn't going to allow it to consume him any longer; they'd deal with it in the morning.

::::::::::

When Kurt woke up the following morning, he was surprised to smell bacon. Blaine wasn't next to him on the couch anymore, but the sound of Beyonce's voice blaring from the radio let Kurt know exactly where his husband was (oh, and the smell of bacon too.) Yawning, Kurt stretched his aching limbs and got off of the couch to pad into the kitchen, thankful when he spotted Blaine standing at the stove, cautiously plucking crisp, sizzling pieces of bacon from the pan to place on a paper towel lined plate.

"You're up early."

"I got hungry."

Blaine dumped some of the grease from the pan and then cracked a few eggs into it, slowly turning the spatula with his nimble fingers as the eggs fried away. Despite how collected he seemed, Kurt could still see the fatigue that the events of yesterday caused him. Even though he was making breakfast and twirling the spatula like he normally did, Kurt could see the tension in his eyebrows and how stiff his jaw was. Blaine was upset, rightfully so, and Kurt wanted nothing more than to pull him in his arms and tell him everything was going to be okay.

Because it would... eventually.

"Kurt?"

"Hmm?" Kurt asked, turning his head to stare at Blaine. He didn't even realize that he got lost in his thoughts until his husband called his name. "What is it?"

"How many eggs do you want?"

"Umm... two? I'm not that hungry though, so no toast please."

Blaine nodded and finished cooking the few eggs he had in the skillet before he popped two pieces of bread in the toaster for himself. For several moments, both men were silent as could be, the only sounds were the pop and sizzle of the eggs in the pan, and when the toasted bread finally popped up, Blaine quickly went to butter it and put it on his plate. With as fast as he was going, Kurt was scared that his husband was going to burn himself.

"Blaine, perhaps you should slow down-"

"I'm fine, Kurt!"

"I didn't- honey, slow down."

Blaine turned to grab the pan and scraped up the now finished eggs, dumping two onto his plate and then pouring the other two onto Kurt's. In the midst of getting Kurt's eggs down, one of them slid from the pan and fell to the floor, the yolk busting on impact. The slimy yellow liquid coated the floor and Blaine slammed the frying pan down, cursing under his breath as he turned to grab a paper towel. Behind him, Kurt watched sadly as Blaine wet the towel and then kneeled down to wipe up the egg, obscenities and other jumbled words slipping from his lips as he cleaned.

"Blaine, don't worry about it. I can get it. Why don't you go eat?"

"No, I've got it, it's okay. I'm sorry I dropped your egg. I can make you another one."

"You don't have to. It's fine."

"You can have one of mine instead. I cooked mine longer than yours though, so the yolk isn't runny like you like it, but you can eat one of mine. It's okay."

Kurt shook his head, "Blaine, I-"

"Just eat the fucking egg, Kurt! God damn!" At his outburst, Blaine bit back a sob and continued scrubbing at the sticky yolk, scraping the gunk off of the floor with an already dirtied napkin. Kurt reached down and pulled his husband up off of the floor, taking the soiled towel to toss in the trash before he guided Blaine to the sink to wash his dirty hands.

"I'm calling Dr. Mayweather," he whispered, holding Blaine close to him as his husband struggled not to break down. Blaine's body was trembling and Kurt could feel his own skin prickling with anger over how disgusted he was that someone had turned Blaine into this mess. Cradling a palm against Blaine's stomach, Kurt nuzzled his husband's neck and sighed, "Just breathe, honey. It'll be okay."

"It's not okay," Blaine cried, shaking his head. "It's _never_ okay."

::::::::::

Doctor Mayweather allowed them to come in for an emergency meeting that afternoon and Kurt had never been so thankful for someone in his life. As soon as she got the story out of them about what happened, Blaine completely fell apart and started bawling over anything and everything that passed through his mind that night. Kurt just sat still next to him, one steadying hand on Blaine's knee as the other man wept over his pain that someone could be so rude to them. Then, when Blaine had finally started to calm down, the therapist turned to Kurt and it was his turn to let it all out.

And let it out he did.

He cussed and complained and talked about how he wanted nothing more than to tear that woman apart with his words (and maybe his fists) and the entire time he talked, Blaine just watched him with carefully studious eyes.

"I just- I wanted to hit her for saying that. I didn't even think in that moment because I know I moved towards her and I can't tell you what I was going to do because I _don't_ know, but I just wanted to scream at her and tell her she was wrong... and then Blaine ran off and I remembered exactly _what_ she said and how it came across to him and I was terrified that I was going to lose him again."

"You weren't," Blaine said, his voice just a breath of a whisper.

"I just- I don't understand how people can be so cruel. We did _nothing_ to them and that bitch, she just- she decided to take out her bigotry on us when all she really had to do was just walk away. I don't understand it."

"Well, based on what you've told me, Kurt," Dr. Mayweather began, looking at the angry blue-eyed man before her, "I don't think you would have struck her, but I do think you would've engaged in verbal combat with her. You don't seem like the physically violent type of person to me at all, especially since we've discussed instances in your past involving violence... and, well, I think you wanted to get back at that woman for saying those hurtful things to you and Blaine. Now, as for the rest of that group, since you said you thought you heard them yelling at the woman in your behalf, I wouldn't be surprised if that truly happened. I won't guarantee that it did, but it might have. You never know."

"But what should we do? I'm afraid to go back there after what happened." Blaine watched the therapist scribble something down before she looked back up at him.

"I would contact your instructor over the incident and see if there's a way for you to schedule your courses on the nights when those people wouldn't be there. You want the rest of this pregnancy to be as stress-free as possible and yes, I know that going to your classes when others who have wronged you will be there isn't very stress-free, but if you contact your instructor, you might be able to find a way around that."

Kurt shook his head in agreement with Dr. Mayweather and listened as she told them some other options in regards to taking their classes. By the end of the appointment, while he still felt annoyed by the whole situation, he felt a lot better, especially since Blaine looked like he was feeling better too.

Taking his husband's hand, Kurt walked them out of the building and down towards Cooper's place. "Do you want me to tell Cooper about what happened?"

"No. I can do it."

"Well I'll stay. We can tell him together."

Blaine nodded, but remained quiet on the short walk and when they finally made it back to the apartment, he dug out his keys and phone from his messenger bag. A frown dusted on his face and Kurt mimicked the expression, peering over Blaine's shoulder to glance at what he was looking at.

"What is it?"

"Laura called me." Blaine raised the phone to his ear and listened to the message in his inbox, his frown slowly disappearing as he pursed his lips together in a thin line.

"Blaine, what is it?"

The younger man hung up his phone and turned to Kurt with a slight smirk spreading across his features, "They kicked the couple out of the program for causing trouble. I guess it wasn't that woman's first go around, so they told her to find another parenting class to take because she wasn't welcome there anymore!" Kurt grinned and laughed, leaning forward to capture Blaine's lips in a jubilant kiss.

"Serves her right. Stupid bitch."

Blaine rolled his eyes fondly at Kurt's cursing and went to unlock the door, pausing when it swung open and revealed a laughing Cooper.

"Blaine! Kurt! You're home! Finally!"

Kurt stared at his brother-in-law incredulously and he knew Blaine had a similar facial expression on because Cooper was staring at both of them with the same stupid knowing look.

"Come in! Come in! I made dinner and it's getting cold, so move it into the house! C'mon!"

Blaine just rolled his eyes again and tugged Kurt into the house, allowing Kurt to kick the door shut behind them before he followed Cooper down the hall. When they bypassed the kitchen, his brows furrowed and he went to question his brother's sanity, but was interrupted with a chorus of voices screaming, "SURPRISE!"

Both men jumped back and Cooper barked out a laugh, which quickly spread around the room. There, seated in Cooper and Blaine's living room, were a few handfuls of people. Finn and Rachel, Carole and Burt, Isabelle, Chase and Paul (and their daughter Stacia), Blaine's old boss Barbara and some of his old friends from the coffee shop as well as people from his tutoring job, _and_ some of their other friends were scattered around the living room. Blaine's eyes widened upon the sight of everyone and Kurt squealed, rushing over to hug his parents.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, your birthday's in two days so we were going to fly up then, but Cooper mentioned throwing Blaine a baby shower and... here we are!"

Blaine's mouth fell open. He turned towards his big brother, "This is a baby shower?! Oh, Coop."

"Obviously you missed the decor," Cooper joked, pointing at the blue and white streamers and other decorations. "You deserve it though, Blaine. I hope you don't care that we put this together without you knowing."

"Oh god, you know I don't. Thank you."

"It's no problem, baby bro." Cooper teasingly gave Blaine a noogie, causing the younger man to laugh and pull away, but then Coop tugged him into a hug and held him close. "I hope you like your shower, squirt."

"Thank you so much. This is the best." Smiling, Blaine turned and went to greet the other party guests while Kurt did the same.

For a while, all thought of the awful things that had been said to them the night before faded away. The guys were able to enjoy a lovely baby shower with their friends and family and Blaine was showered with gifts for their son, which made Kurt's heart swell every single time his husband laughed and grinned over the things they were given. By the end of the night, when the party was coming to a close and Kurt found himself standing next to Paul and Chase while they all watched Blaine rock and sing Anastacia to sleep, Kurt realized that no matter what people said or did to them, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted than to raise a family with Blaine. Nothing more.

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**A/N: Just a few more chapters to go! I hope you all aren't bailing out on me now! Haha! I don't know if I posted the last chapter at a bad time or what because it was like the viewer/reader count dropped quite a bit, but who knows? This story's really long and it's crazy, so I can definitely understand. But I am very thankful for those of you who've stuck with me. Coming up next: Blaine's birthday gift to Kurt! Oh! Also, I need help with baby names. Honestly, I have names for my own future kids picked out that I could totally use for Kurt and Blaine's kids (well, a son in this story), but to me, those names just don't fit names that they would use, you know? So, if you don't care, would you mind sending me some of your favorite baby boy names? No more than ten per comment/review please. I don't care if you list them as single names or if you combine a first and middle. I just need ideas. My brain hurts from thinking about baby names too much! Ha! Anyway, sorry for the long author's note and please let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

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The baby shower Cooper and company had thrown was the funnest thing Blaine had done in a long time. He had received so many different things for the baby and the nursery was basically finished now. Finn and Cooper put together the cherry wood crib set that Burt and Carole had gotten the baby and when that was finished, Carole and Kurt decorated the room with the rest of the monkey stuff. The entire time they did that, Blaine watched on from the sidelines, eyes curiously gauging his family members as they put things together and got everything ready for the baby's arrival. Just seeing everything up and situated made it more real that within a month and a half, a little one would be living there. Their baby was due in the middle of July and it was already nearing the end of May, so there wasn't much time left and Blaine could feel it.

Actually he could feel it all over his body. Body parts were moving in regards to the baby getting ready to be born and even though he was getting closer and closer to the finish line (he was officially nine months pregnant now), he felt like he was taking his sweet old time getting there. He was tired. He was completely worn out and that was why the group made him sit out during the heavy lifting and tiring stuff. So, while everybody else did all the work, Blaine sat in the rocking chair and sipped on a glass of ginger ale, quietly watching and commenting on everything.

"Those are adorable," he cooed over the sheets Carole was fitting around the crib's mattress. They, like everything else in the room, had monkeys on them and when Kurt pulled them out of the wrapper, he laughed.

"You think everything in here's adorable," Cooper commented, wiping the sweat from his brow with his hand. He stared at his little brother for a moment before he shot a look to Burt and Carole. All three of them shared a significant look with each other that Blaine just didn't understand, but he was way too tired to try and dig his brain for an idea, so he just raised a brow at them and took another drink of his soda.

"What do you think of this stuffed monkey sitting on the dresser?" Finn asked as he tried to balance the plushie next to a jungle tree shaped lamp. Blaine nodded his agreement and Finn cheered when the stuffed animal stayed still. "Thank god, I thought that thing was never going to sit up." As soon as he said those words, the monkey tipped forward and fell onto the floor, much to the delight of everyone in the room.

Blaine laughed the most, snorting on his ginger ale, which he ended up getting all over his clothes. Kurt rolled his eyes fondly at his silly husband and fetched a towel from the guest bathroom to help clean Blaine off; when everything was dried and cleaned up, he kissed Blaine's ginger flavored lips and ignored the soft chorus of _awws_ that came from around the room. "Love you," he whispered to his husband and Blaine parroted the words back, punctuating the sentiment with another kiss.

Behind them, the group of Anderson/Hudmels put away mounds of baby clothes into dresser drawers as well as finished nailing up different paintings of various jungle animals. Within a few hours, they had the whole room done and they all sat around admiring their work while Rachel and Finn dipped out to grab everyone some lunch (since they finished off the remainder of the baby shower food the night before.) While they were gone, Carole and Burt regaled the others with stories about Finn and Kurt when they were babies.

"-and then I come into the room and Kurt's sitting on the dresser! His mom was laughing so hard and she had her camera out takin' pictures of him, and I couldn't figure out why because _he was on the freaking dresser_! But, it turns out that he went and pulled out all of the drawers so he could climb up and continuously spray her perfume on himself and she thought it was hilarious so I couldn't help but get a chuckle out of that too."

"How old was he?" Blaine asked once he quit laughing and Burt smiled.

"Just a little over two years old. So, I'm thinking that if genetics means anything to how your kid's gonna act, then you two are going to have your hands full. Especially since Cooper said that you had a problem with jumping on everything and Kurt liked to climb stuff - you guys are going to have a little mountain climber on your hands!"

"Oh my god," Kurt groaned playfully and the group laughed at his tone. After they calmed, Carole launched into a story about Finn's expeditions with being naked in public, but then the topic of the embarrassing story came into the room and glared at his mother.

"Don't tell them that story, please. It's horrible."

"Oh but honey, that story's my favorite," Rachel teased as she came up behind her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm sure Blaine and Cooper would _love_ to hear about how you ripped off all of your clothes and ran through the neighborhood flashing everybody."

Finn rolled his eyes and gruffed something under his breath that only seemed to make things more hilarious, so the group burst into hysterics. Kurt was practically doubled over with tears leaking from his eyes and Cooper wasn't much better. Blaine, on the other hand, had quit laughing halfway through everyone's fit of giggles and when Carole noticed Blaine's laughter fade away, she popped up from her spot on the floor next to the crib to check on her son-in-law.

"Blaine, honey, are you alright?"

"I'm- uh... the baby's- he's-"

Kurt's eyes widened when he took a good look at his husband and spotted what actually had Blaine speechless. Blaine's belly, which only sometimes bounced outward with the baby's kicks and punches, was actually moving rather rapidly, like their son just couldn't get comfortable and needed some room to move. Blaine's hands hovered over his stomach like he was afraid to touch it just in case he startled the baby and everyone else in the room quieted down and watched in amazement as the top of Blaine's belly peaked up into a round lump and then proceeded to move quite slowly down towards the bottom near Blaine's navel.

"Oh my goodness, he's flipping!" Carole cooed and Blaine's eyes widened.

"This is kinda painful," he breathed out, still in shock over what was happening in his body, and Kurt pushed himself up onto his knees to gently press a hand over the spot where their son was trying to settle into.

"Oh wow, honey."

"I definitely felt that. Oh my god, I think he might've broke something... that or severely bruised it."

Comments about aliens and how creepy the whole thing was came from Finn and Cooper, but Kurt paid them no mind as he had never been so mesmerized by anything in his life than he was by his unborn son. Just seconds ago, the baby decided he wasn't comfortable in his spot and did a giant roll over, one that was large enough for the whole room to see, and while it wasn't the most painless ordeal in Blaine's behalf, it was still the craziest, most amazing thing Kurt had seen in his whole life.

"God, I love you," he exhaled, kissing the bump before he leaned up and captured Blaine's mouth with his own. Around them, whispers about leaving the couple alone for a minute filled the air and then both of them were left in the silence of the baby's newly finished nursery. Blaine smiled when he pulled away from his husband and covered Kurt's hands with his own, grinning more when Kurt peppered the tip of his nose with kisses.

"I love you too."

"I can't believe he just did that. That was crazy."

"And painful. I think he broke my spleen."

"Your spleen?"

"Or my kidneys. Or my lungs. I don't know, but he broke it. I guess we'll have to add future gymnast to his list of achievements next to breakdancer and Olympic boxer." Blaine rubbed the top of his belly where the baby's feet were now kicking and sighed. "Now he's using my ribs as a xylophone. Fantastic."

"Oh honey," Kurt said sympathetically. He put his hand over Blaine's and leaned closer to the bump, stopping when only his nose barely touched it. "Hey there, baby boy, you shouldn't beat up your daddy. It's not nice." Smirking, he nuzzled his cheek against the belly and laughed when he got popped in the jaw by a baby punch. "Oh my god, he hit me!"

"He wants to abuse both of us. I see how it is," Blaine joked, patting his stomach fondly. He giggled when the baby jerked again and Kurt got pushed away from his belly for a moment. "I don't think he's down with daddy bonding. He's gonna be one of those kids who screams and runs from the room whenever we show each other affection."

"Oh, I was never one of _those_ kids. I always tried to jump in the middle of my parents' hugs and kisses. What about you?"

Blaine chewed on his lip for a moment and frowned, "My parents didn't do that kind of stuff so..." Kurt looked up and gave Blaine a look, one of those ones that only the two of them understood and when Blaine caught it, he leaned forward and kissed the top of his husband's head, "We're not going to be like them though. We're going to be better."

"Of course we are. We're Kurt and Blaine. We're better than everyone."

"You are too cocky. I love it."

"I know you do. How else do you think you ended up pregnant?"

Blaine practically cackled with laughter and he playfully shoved Kurt away from him, "You're awful!" He laughed, slowly standing up from his seat to make his way out of the room. "I'm not taking part in this raunchy conversation any longer. I'm getting some food."

"Oh yes, because you worked _so_ hard today!" Kurt chided back, grabbing Blaine's glass of soda and following him to the door. He took his husband's hand with his free one and smiled when Blaine rolled his eyes at him.

"You try being pregnant and _then_ you can make jokes."

"Aww, I don't have the gene. Sucks to be me."

Blaine laughed again, "Yeah, jerk. Sucks to be you."

::::::::::

Later that night, after Kurt and everybody else headed home and left Cooper and Blaine alone in their apartment, Blaine found himself bored to tears. He sat in the nursery all by himself, rocking back and forth in the chair as he stared around the finished room. The matching furniture worked perfectly with the paint job he had done weeks ago and all the little monkey decorations made Blaine smile every single time he saw them.

He was so ready for this baby.

But despite his excitement about the upcoming birth of their son, something didn't feel right. Watching Kurt walk out the door earlier with Burt and Carole made Blaine's heart ache terribly. They spent a good bit of time saying goodnight to each other before Kurt left and instead of feeling okay that he would be seeing Kurt again tomorrow for his birthday, he felt like someone had wretched the other half of him away... and he _hated_ feeling like that.

Sighing, he pushed himself out of the chair and snuck his way down to Cooper's room, knocking a couple of times on the door before he stepped in and found his older brother laying on his bed going over a script. "Coop?" He asked, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, squirt. What's botherin' ya?"

Blaine scooted around to make himself more comfortable, finally settling on lounging next to his brother. Coop waited until he was relaxed before he reached a hand out to pat his brother's stomach. The baby kicked hard at the touch, but since he was head down, his foot jabbed Blaine in the chest and Blaine gasped, choking on air for a second before he looked up to glare at Cooper. "You made him kick me."

"Nah, he was trying to kick me, but he got confused. Poor _Chip_, I feel for him."

Blaine rolled his eyes at the nickname, but went back to the main reason why he came to talk to Cooper in the first place. "You know Kurt's birthday is tomorrow, right?"

"Umm yeah? It's not like everyone and their mom wasn't talking about it over the last three days."

"Well, I was trying to figure out what I could get him as a present and he said he didn't want anything because the baby's due soon... but I still want to give him something so I was thinking that I, uh... I want to- I want to-"

"_You want to_?" Cooper teased and Blaine smacked his hand away from his bump.

"Shut up. I just don't know how to say it."

"Spill the beans, bub. If you have something to tell me, then go ahead. I'm all ears."

Blaine carefully pushed himself up into a seated position, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes as he looked at his brother. "You know you mean a lot to me, Coop. You've been nothing but an amazing brother for the longest time and I really appreciate _everything_ you've done for me over the last few months... but I- I really miss Kurt and- and I know that I came to live with you because he hurt me, but I feel like we're okay now. I miss him all of the time. I miss being with him and waking up next to him and I just- I feel like I've been ripped apart when he's gone. I-"

"You want to move back in with him?"

"I- yes. I know you probably think it's a bad idea, but he's changed, Coop! He's just as excited about the baby as I am and I know it took him a while to get there, but he's sorry for what he did and he's ready for this. I just know he is."

"And you're sure about this?"

"I'm a 100% sure."

Cooper nodded and dropped his head to stare at his hands, which he had laying on his lap. He sighed, "You know, I was just waiting for you to come in here one day and tell me you were ready to leave." Blaine made a soft noise next to him and Cooper chuckled to himself, "You and Kurt... you guys have been getting closer and closer since you moved in with me and I really think that you two living apart made a difference in the way Kurt dealt with this. You're right - he's trying and it's not rocket science for any of us to see it. I- I actually watched him today while he was helping decorate the nursery and even _I_ could see the change in him."

Blaine smiled and cupped his hands over his stomach, nodding at Cooper's words. "He's changed a lot."

"I even heard him crying to Carole earlier about your amino-"

"He did?"

"Yeah, and he said it was like a wake-up call for him - that there could've been something wrong with the baby and that you had already dealt with a lot with the hospital drama and then _that_ and when I heard him talking to Carole about it, I _knew_ that things had changed. And now here you are, telling me to you want to go back with him and I- I completely understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but... Blaine, I don't want you going back to your old apartment-"

"But-"

"I want you to stay here. _Both_ of you."

Blaine's eyes widened, "What?"

"Your old apartment is so tiny, B. There's no room for a baby there! Plus the locks are faulty and it just sucks. Like, I know you two are attached to that place - you've been there forever, but _I'd_ feel better if you two lived here instead."

"Coop..."

"So, tomorrow when you go spend time with your hubby for his b-day and you tell him you want to move back in with him, make sure you mention that you guys are taking over _this_ apartment."

"Cooper! This is _your_ place! We can't just take it over!"

"_Please_. The rent here is not much more than your guys' old place is now and don't try and tell me that you two weren't in the market for a new apartment anyway. This place is _perfect_ for you and if you don't want to stay here, you don't have to, but there's already a room down the hall that's all ready for your baby and it would be dumb to take everything from here to your old place that you'll just have to move from anyway since it's too small for anyone to live there in the first place."

Blaine stared at his big brother in shock, happy tears slipping from his eyes as he rubbed his fingers over his cheeks. "I don't know how to thank you. I love you so much, Coop."

"I love you too, squirt." Cooper pulled his little bro in for a hug and grinned when Blaine began crying against his shoulder. "I'm gonna be so glad when your hormones get regulated again because you are way too emotional for me." Blaine smacked him in the arm and Cooper laughed, patting the other man's back tenderly. "And if money's an issue with you two, I can help since I'm the one who picked out this place-"

"Coop-"

"But after _Chip's _born and you two are moved in here completely, I'm going to go back to LA. I already have it all planned out."

"What?"

"See this?" Cooper slid the script he had been reading over to Blaine and watched as his brother's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I got the lead role."

"You were reading for this while we were in Providence!"

"Yep and I got it... and I start filming in August and we're filming on location in Cali, so I've gotta get out there and get ready for that."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I wanted to see how you and Kurt were doing. I didn't want to spring the news on you just in case you two weren't doing well because I wasn't sure if I was going to take the role or not, but when I got here and saw you two together again and saw that Kurt was making changes with himself to fix everything, I knew you'd be okay. So, I accepted the role and I'll be leaving not long after _Chip's_ born."

"Wow. I- I don't know what to say."

"You could tell me _congratulations_?"

Blaine smiled brightly and leaned in again to hug his brother, "Congrats Coop! This is amazing."

"I know, right? I'm getting ready to film this awesome new role and you're getting ready to have a baby. Busy year for the Anderson bros, am I right?"

"It has been a crazy year, hasn't it?"

"You bet your ass it has." Cooper nudged Blaine with his elbow and Blaine stuck his tongue out at him, both brothers enjoying the moment together. It wouldn't be like this soon, not with the baby on the way and Cooper getting ready to move back to LA, but despite the upcoming changes, it seemed like both Anderson brothers were closer than ever and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

::::::::::

"How come you still knock when you come over?" Kurt asked as he opened the door and let Blaine in. Jennycat pushed her way between the two men and Blaine picked her up to cradle her against his chest as he followed Kurt into the living room. When he was spotted by Kurt's parents, the couple jumped up from their seats and made their way over to greet him and his belly, cooing and talking to it as it moved due to the baby's excitement.

"He's quite the little dancer, isn't he?" Carole asked as she placed a hand over one of the hot spots where the baby moved. Blaine nodded and pressed a kiss to Jennyanydots' head before he let her hop onto the back of the couch.

"I think he thinks it's cute to move around a lot and keep me awake at night too. I swear I didn't sleep very well at all last night but when I woke up this morning, he decided to go to bed finally and when he realized he was going to get attention from his grandparents, he decided to start moving again."

"It'll let up soon though. Once he gets bigger, there'll be less room in there for him to move around and he'll just relax. Finn was this way too; he'd move around all night and I wouldn't get any rest and then when I was awake and moving around, he'd sleep. I think he did it to spite me."

"That's Finn for you," Kurt commented over his shoulder as he moved some things off of the couch and onto the coffee table. Once he finished cleaning off another sitting area, he made his way over to Blaine and kissed him, smiling when Blaine whimpered into the kiss. "You okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. Just missed you, that's all."

"You saw me last night."

"I can still miss you," Blaine pouted, poking Kurt in the shoulder. Carole and Burt watched the exchange quietly, each of them sharing knowing looks, and then they stepped away to sit down. Once they were out of the way, Kurt got closer to his husband and took him into his arms, kissing him fully before he pulled away and rested his head against Blaine's.

"I missed you too, if you must know."

"Happy birthday. How does it feel to be another year older?"

"I don't feel any older, I guess. My back cracked this morning and I almost made a joke about needing _Life Alert_ but then I remembered dad's here so-"

Burt protested from behind them and Blaine laughed, playfully shoving his husband's shoulder as he apologized to his father-in-law. "Don't be mean to your dad. He's as spry as a fox."

"Yeah, like anyone knows what _that_ means," Kurt teased. He tugged Blaine over to the couch and sat down with him, one hand immediately finding its way to rest over Blaine's swollen stomach. A swift kick bumped his palm and Blaine puffed out a stutter of air, rolling his eyes afterwards.

"Your son is trying to kill me. Death by air being kicked out of my lungs is the way I'm going to go, Kurt, and it's going to be your fault."

"Excuse me? He's a part of you too, thank you very much."

"But he got his high kicks from you, not me. I can't kick that high. I'm not that flexible."

"I'd beg to differ," Kurt said, a devilish look spreading across his face. A cough snapped both men from their ruthless flirting and Kurt rolled his eyes at his dad when he spotted the red-cheeked older man watching them amusedly. "Dad, I'm in my 30s and my husband's pregnant. I'm well past the age of you getting embarrassed by things of a sexual nature."

"I'm just trying to figure out where the boy who would stuff his fingers into his ears and sing whenever anyone mentioned sex to him went. I miss that kid."

"That kid-" Kurt started, only to be shushed by Blaine when the other man clapped his hands together and effectively interrupted the upcoming uncomfortable conversation.

"So what's the plan for today?"

"Well," Carole jumped in, sensing that Blaine needed help, "Burt and I want to take you both out to dinner later, so whatever you have planned, you two can go do that now and then we can all meet up here around 7ish if you don't care."

"That's fine," Blaine agreed, turning towards his husband. "I actually have something planned for one o' clock, so if you're ready, we can head out now and-"

"Oh, I'm ready. I just have to put some shoes on and we can go."

"Great."

Blaine waited for Kurt to slip on his boots and once that was done, both men said goodbye to Burt and Carole and left the apartment. Blaine couldn't keep the excitement from bleeding through him and he practically bounced during the entire cab ride from the apartment to the first thing he had planned that day. When they finally arrived to their first destination, Kurt looked confused, but allowed his husband to drag him into the tiny building, his eyes immediately growing wide at the sight of the pictures on the wall.

"Are we-"

"Yep! I thought this would be a pretty good place to start your birthday celebration!"

"Oh Blaine-"

"I hope you don't care. I realize that this is kind of for _both_ of us, but I-"

"You know I don't mind. I just- wow, _honey_..."

Blaine grinned and walked up to the window, smiling at the receptionist when the woman slid the glass to the side to greet him. "Appointment for Anderson-Hummel at one o' clock."

"Ahh yes, one of Doctor Banes' patients. We'll call you as soon as we're ready."

"Okay thanks." Blaine pulled Kurt over to some empty seats and they both sat down, Kurt still busy staring at the photos on the wall.

"Are we going to get pictures like these done?"

"Yep. Whatever poses you want. Plus we're getting some other surprise ones done as well, so..."

Kurt bounced in his seat, grinning from ear to ear as he flipped through a catalog of different poses that the two of them could use for their photographs. That was Kurt's first present of the day, some before-baby pictures of the two of them so that they could remember the pregnancy and even though it was a present for the two of them (of which Blaine realized most of his plans for the day ended up being about the two of them and that made him slightly sad), Kurt didn't seem to mind at all. If anything, the birthday boy was excited for everything to come and it was evident in his pictures.

They took a few shots of them holding each other, a few of Kurt kissing and touching the bump, and a few of Blaine alone. Then they took some pics of Blaine's belly itself, with their hands touching it and by the end of the shoot, Kurt was bopping around on his tiptoes while he overlooked each picture on the computer. Blaine let him pick and choose which photos to get since it was his birthday and when the photographer gave them their packet of pictures and a few CDs of digital photos, Kurt kissed Blaine on the top of his head and thanked him for a wonderful present.

"That's not all," Blaine told him as they made their way to another building and when they arrived to their second destination, Kurt's eyes widened again.

"Are we-"

"We're going to see if he _truly_ has your nose."

"Blaine-"

And that's how they ended up getting a 3D/4D ultrasound done. The entire time, Blaine was worried that the baby had dropped too low in his pelvis to get anything good on-screen, but luckily for him, the baby was in a good position for photographing, so they got some good shots. Kurt was teary-eyed through the whole thing, his hands cupped around one of Blaine's as he watched the ultrasound technician show them different angles of the baby's body and when she zoomed in on their little boy's face, Blaine squealed.

"That is _your_ nose, Kurt! Look at it! He has your nose!"

"Oh my god, he does."

"I knew it! I told you he'd have your nose!"

"You were right all along," Kurt breathed, his voice soft in amazement. The technician showed them a few more angles and took some more pictures before she printed them out and gave them to the couple. Once Blaine cleaned the gel from his belly and fixed his clothing, he gave Kurt a big kiss and pulled away laughing, eyes crinkled in happiness.

"I can't believe how cute he is."

"He's adorable and the cutest baby ever and he's not even here yet and I love him so much."

"I know. Me too."

"And I love you."

"I love you more. Happy birthday, Kurt."

::::::::::

The rest of Kurt's birthday was spent seeing a Broadway show and then they caught dinner with Burt and Carole. The dinner was nice and Kurt's parents enjoyed looking at the photos the men had gotten that day. Burt was especially overjoyed at the sight of the 3D pictures.

"He's got your mom's nose, bud." He said, voice thick with emotion and Blaine bit his own lip to keep himself from crying at the table due to how happy he was that their son was going to have Kurt's mother's nose.

"He's going to be so precious. In fact, he already is," Carole remarked as she studied the pictures. Everybody discussed the baby's looks and the pictures Kurt and Blaine took earlier and when their food came, Blaine was so ravenous that he practically inhaled his food and then felt embarrassed that he ate so fast when everybody else was still eating theirs. "No need to be flustered about eating fast, sweetheart. You're pregnant and that happens," Carole soothed, patting her hand on his own. Blaine took her words to heart and smiled at her, thankful that at least someone sort of understood, and later on, when they decided to walk off their food on the way home, he stuck close to her and talked about different pregnancy related things.

Once they got to the apartment, Burt and Carole gave Blaine a knowing look and that's when he realized that they _knew_ about what he was going to do next. Obviously Cooper had talked to them about Kurt moving into the other apartment and that was why they kept on sharing _those_ looks with one another. "Good luck," Carole whispered to him as they entered the building and Blaine let out a deep breath, turning to face his husband. Kurt was watching him curiously, one beautiful eyebrow raised as he stared.

"You look like you're scared of something."

"I'm not."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I have another present for you actually."

"Oh my god, Blaine- what did I- I told you that you didn't have to get me _anything_ and you've already done so much for me today! Do you not listen?"

"Obviously I don't," Blaine joked, stepping closer to Kurt to take the older man's hands into his own. He placed Kurt's hands on his stomach and leaned in to capture his lips with a warm, deep kiss. "First of all, happy birthday. I'm so glad that I've been able to celebrate so many of them with you and I love you very, very much."

"I love you too."

"And I want to tell you that I am so proud of you for going to therapy for me and the baby and for working on you and _us_ and for making us work again and- and I... just... _thank you_. I love you more than anything in this world and these last few weeks back together with you have been amazing. I've been able to watch you grow and I've fallen in love with you more and more every day and- and I want to be with you again."

"You-"

"I mean... like, I want us to live together again. I don't want to be away from you any longer. I want to wake up next to you again and spend time with you all the time like we used to and- I just want to be _with_ you. I hate that we're living apart. I want us to be _us_ again."

"Oh Blaine!" Kurt sobbed and tugged Blaine into his arms, crying against the shorter man's cheek as he held him close. "Blaine, Blaine, _Blaine_."

"But I also want us to get a bigger place too. So I want you and Jenny to move in with _me_."

Kurt stepped back for a moment, watery blue eyes studying his husband, "You want us to move in with you and Cooper?"

"Well... me, for the most part. Cooper is moving back to LA."

"He is?"

"Yeah, and he said we can take over the rent and everything once he goes. The place is bigger and it'll be the best place to raise our family. Plus we wouldn't have to deal with a stupid door that doesn't lock properly or won't open and-"

"I'll do it. I'll move."

"You will?"

"Of course, I will! Oh my god, Blaine, I- this is amazing!"

"So you like your birthday presents?"

"I love them and I love you so, so much," Kurt whispered, leaning forward to press his lips against Blaine's. The two of them wrapped themselves up in each other, arms curling around bodies as they melted together as _one_ for the first time since forever. It had taken them months to get where they were now, from terrible fights to hospital visits and scares galore, and now there they were, outside of their old apartment building, kissing and crying and holding each other and never wanting to let go.

And it was perfect. It was the best birthday Kurt Hummel had had in _forever_ and, standing there in Blaine's arms, feeling their son kick against his torso, he didn't want the moment to end... _ever_.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, they're back together again! Woo hoo! And about time too, yeah? Baby's coming soon and Kurt's gotta get moved out of his place, so there's still a lot for them to do and we've got about 3-4 more chapters to go, so we're almost done. Yay! Anyway, thanks for reading. Keep sending those baby name ideas in and please review! I would love to see this fic get to 500 reviews (I would probably fall over and die if that happened lol) - it's my longest fic ever and this is the most reviews I've ever gotten so woo hoo! You guys are awesome! Thanks for your feedback!**


	27. Chapter 27

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

* * *

Kurt moved into the new apartment during the first week of June, not too long after his birthday.

Everybody helped him move and within a day or two, he was completely out of the old place and all set up with Blaine and Cooper (their old apartment got picked up pretty quickly by a young couple looking to start out in a new city and Blaine was thankful that they didn't have to deal with that place anymore, despite the many memories - good and bad - that the building held for them.) After he was all settled in, Kurt found himself enthralled by the ridiculous amount of time he had to spend with Blaine. Sure, things were still busy as ever at work, but Isabelle told him to take it easy and she and Chase would take on a lot of his projects, especially since Blaine's due date was looming closer and the next few weeks of alone time between the husbands would be _very _rare in the future. Even Cooper did his best to stay out of their hair by going on tours of the city and making dates with younger, starstruck women who found _famous_ Hollywood actor Cooper Anderson to be too irresistible.

Other than Cooper, Burt and Carole went back to Ohio for the month, promising to fly in once Blaine's due date came (or when he went into labor, whichever came first.) So since everyone was out of their way, both men had the chance to spend some quality time with each other and they made the best of it - _best of it _meaning talking and sex and all that lovely stuff.

Kurt was exceptionally pleased to be with Blaine again, as he missed being around his husband all the time like they used to, and even though he had a hard time figuring out his way around the apartment (like Blaine, he too had a habit of running into the walls at night since he wasn't used to the place), he really liked his new home. Jennycat seemed to like it too and she was excited to be around Blaine again, constantly taking refuge up against his belly as the two of them napped - and Kurt had _plenty_ of cute pictures to show for it.

However, one thing Kurt hadn't been expecting (but, in all reality, he should have known it was coming), was that during his last month of pregnancy, Blaine sort of became miserable. Absolutely _miserable._

Being pregnant in the hot summer heat was awful. Blaine was never comfortable enough, even with the air conditioner running full blast while he lounged in their bedroom in just a pair of too tight briefs. When the temperatures climbed into the nineties, Blaine was incredibly unhappy, groaning and the like while he struggled to find a cool place to lay down and relax. By the second week of June (and Blaine's 35th week of pregnancy), things went a little sour in the happiness department with Blaine. Kurt started to come home to a cranky husband who complained about his swollen hands and feet and hated how sweaty he was anymore. Kurt even felt bad when he'd walk into the house and find Jennycat locked out of the room, a note taped to the door that begged whomever entered to _not_ let her in as it was too hot to have a cat laying on top of you in such brutal weather.

One particular afternoon, when the sun outside was blazing and the air was an unfortunately humid 92 degrees, Kurt came home to find Jenny perched outside of his bedroom door with that same note on the wall again. Tutting his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Kurt looked at the note and then at the cat before he sighed.

"Did mean ol' daddy lock you out of the room again?" He asked as he picked up the cat and quietly opened the door to the bedroom.

Blaine was sprawled out on their bed before him, mostly naked except for a pair of ill-fitting boxers. His skin was glistening with sweat and his face was blush red. "Please don't bring her in," the pregnant man begged, his voice thick with tears. Kurt immediately turned to toss the cat back into the hall before he shut the door and made his way over to his emotional husband.

"Aww, sweetie... what's wrong?"

"I just feel so gross," Blaine whined, blinking back the tears in his eyes. He ran his hand over his plump stomach and shuddered, "I'm so sweaty and I smell and it's so hard to move around anymore and... and _look_ at my stomach, Kurt! I have stretch marks! _Stretch marks_!"

Kurt leaned down to look where Blaine was gesturing and he sighed, rolling his eyes when he spotted just the tiniest little red lines coming from either side of the bottom of his husband's belly. There were only a couple, obviously new since they hadn't been there before, but it was enough to set Blaine off. "Honey, they're little. They'll probably clear up in a week or two after the baby's born."

"You don't know that! My body is never gonna be the same. I'm gonna have a pudgy stomach and stretch marks and I'll be fat and you're going to wonder why you even stayed with me."

"Baby, no," Kurt whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to Blaine's clammy cheek. He ran a hand through his lover's damp hair and sighed, "You're beautiful, especially now since you're carrying our son. You are _so _gorgeous and I could care less if you have stretch marks or pudge or anything. You'll always be beautiful to me."

"Yeah, yeah, easy for you to say, Adonis." Blaine pouted, eyes rapidly blinking once more. Kurt carefully wiped away the sweat and tears that littered Blaine's cheeks and then he laid down on the bed next to him, careful not to get too close just in case he overstepped any boundaries.

"How come you didn't want Jenny in here? She's hanging out in the hallway waiting for you to let her in."

"It's so hot, Kurt. It's _so_ freaking hot and she wants to lay on me all the time and... and I know she missed me and I missed her too but she's so furry and I'm sweaty and she leaves hair all over me and it's too hot for her to be in here! I feel bad because she keeps on meowing and sticking her paws under the door, but you don't understand - it's just too hot for kitty bonding time!"

Kurt smirked, nodding in agreement with his complaining husband; gently, he placed a hand on Blaine's stomach, his brows furrowing when he felt how warm the flesh was. The baby moved a bit at his touch, causing Blaine to grumble, but then the movement settled. Kurt frowned, "I think he's about as worn out as you are."

"It's cramped in there. He's smushed in there with all of my organs and we're both uncomfortable. Honestly, I'll be glad when my due date comes because this sucks."

"I'm sorry you don't feel good," Kurt said softly, kissing Blaine's curls again before he rolled off of the bed and began shedding his clothes to change into something cooler. Blaine watched him for a moment before he rolled onto his side and curled up a bit, a soft hiss slipping from his lips.

"That hurt."

"_What_ hurt?" Kurt asked, dropping the basketball shorts he was about to step into on the floor. He watched as Blaine made another face before he leapt across the room and climbed up on the bed, frantically leaning down to lay a hand against Blaine's tummy. "What's hurting?"

"These stupid Braxton Hicks contractions. I've had them off and on over the last few days. That one- that one wasn't pleasant."

"Are you sure it wasn't a _real_ contraction?"

"Well, if I have another one soon, it probably was, but I think it was just a Hicks one. No need to worry. Go put your shorts on."

Kurt waited a few minutes for anything else to happen, but Blaine waved him away and went back to laying like a starfish in their huge bed. Outside the door, Jennycat yowled and scratched at the floor with her paws, making both Kurt and Blaine feel terrible for leaving her in the hallway, but after several minutes of her whining, the cat left her post and ventured off to do something else. Once she was gone, Kurt climbed up onto the bed with Blaine, who was very close to dozing off, and began rubbing some cocoa butter into the stretched skin of his pregnant lover's belly. "These marks will go away, you know? You've been really good at keeping your skin moisturized and you went for so long without them. These only showed up because you're about to give birth and the baby's growing a lot before he comes out."

"Uh huh," Blaine offered sleepily, blinking his dark eyes open and closed as Kurt softly massaged his bump. "That feels good."

"Good," Kurt whispered. He ran his hands along Blaine's side and bit his lip when his hands met more heated skin, "You are so warm, sweetheart. Gosh, you're burning up."

"I'm a human incubator," Blaine mumbled, closing his eyes. "Like with those unhatched baby chicks, except mine's a human and-"

"Oh Blaine. Go to sleep, honey. You're starting to ramble."

"Okay."

Kurt chuckled to himself when Blaine's breathing evened out not long after he told him to rest and by the time all of the lotion had seeped into Blaine's skin, Kurt himself was tuckered out. Yawning, he tossed the bottle of cocoa butter to the side and laid down next to his husband, careful not to get too close if the extra heat woke Blaine up, but he did link his hand into one of Blaine's, squeezing the slightly swollen fingers within his own. "Love you."

::::::::::

"Honey, why aren't you in bed?"

Blaine looked up from his book and sighed, scooting farther down the couch so Kurt could sit down beside him and snuggle. "The baby has hiccups and it woke me up."

"Hiccups?"

"Yeah. Come feel."

Kurt took a seat next to his husband and pulled Blaine into his lap, wrapping his arms around him to press his hands to Blaine's stomach. Immediately he could feel these strange little movements, a bit different from usual the kicking or punching, plus they were more frequent. When his face contorted into something mirroring _confused_, Blaine laughed, causing his body to shake against Kurt's.

"Feel him? He's got the hiccups. Poor little guy."

"That's what baby hiccups feel like?"

"Yep. He's had them for, like, an hour now. I don't know how to make them stop. Like, the last time he had them, they just quit on their own, so... hopefully these will let up soon. He's tired and so am I."

Kurt smiled and nuzzled his head into Blaine's neck, breathing in his husband's scent as the man in front of him flipped through a baby name book. "Find any names yet?"

"No. Have you thought of anything?"

"Not a one."

"This poor little guy is going to come out hiccuping and nameless. He's not going to have a name until he's a month old. Just watch."

"Maybe it'll be one of those things where we need to actually see him first before we can pick a name for him. Like, you know how in the movies, the people are all about having a name set up and then the kid's born and it doesn't look like the name they've picked out? What if it's like that? Like we need to have a few names set out, and when he's born, we'll know."

"That's what I was thinking actually. I don't just want to pick a name for him and not have it fit him at all. He'll need a name worthy of him. Like, I'm not going to name him _Patrick_ if he doesn't look like a _Patrick_, you know?"

"Good, cause I don't like the name Patrick anyway."

"Kurt!"

"I'm just saying."

"But what if he looks like a Patrick?"

"Well then he's just going to need to look like something else."

Blaine chuckled and shoved Kurt's leg, shutting the book to cast aside as he leaned back in his husband's embrace. "I'm not naming him _Junior_ either. Or _Chip_. Cooper can bite me."

Kurt smirked, "I guess we'll figure it all out when he arrives. Only three and a half weeks to go."

"Yeah, and we haven't even had all of our parenting classes yet."

"We'll get them in," Kurt soothed, curling his arms around Blaine to hug him tight. "If not, we can still take _Patrick-_" Blaine giggled, "-_Junior__ Chip_ with us while we learn how to parent."

"You're an idiot."

"You love me."

"I do."

::::::::::

For the next two weeks, Blaine dealt with baby hiccups, horrible leg cramps (ones that were awful enough to make him wake up crying in pain, which scared the shit out of Kurt every single time), and other late-term pregnancy uncomfortableness. He was so close to the finish line, a little more than a week and a half to go, but it seemed like he was lagging. The days and nights felt longer, like they blended together most of the time. He couldn't sleep, his heartburn was ridiculously bad, and most nights, he would lie in bed wide awake, sweating and in pain from the Braxton Hicks contractions. Kurt, being the ever-attentive husband he could be, did his best to keep Blaine comfortable, but there was only so much he could do since most of Blaine's discomfort came from the weight of the child inside him and from the way his body was preparing for the upcoming birth.

Most nights, it was like Blaine was floating on a cloud between being asleep and being wide awake. He would start to taper off late at night and then would wake up with a harsh stomach cramp or an awful charlie horse in his calf that would cause him to groan in pain and for the rest of the night, he'd be awake, sitting in the living room with Jennycat while Kurt and Cooper slept on in their respective rooms.

Sometimes Kurt would wake up to an empty bed and find his husband passed out on the couch and he would do his best to not disturb Blaine, knowing how rare and valuable his sleep was now that the pregnant man seemed to have developed late-term insomnia and other pains, but then Blaine would get another cramp or wake up feeling like he was going to puke and it would all be for naught.

Near the end of June, when a slight cold front came in from Canada and doused New York with some forgiving cooler temperatures, Blaine spent a lot of his time walking around outside, to and from their therapy appointments (because they felt as if they still needed to go even though things were going well now) and to other areas around the city. Kurt accompanied him every single time he left just in case something happened, but Blaine assured him everything was fine and that he'd be okay.

Kurt, of course, still came anyway.

Then, a week before his due date (just a few days after the 4th of July, of which no one really celebrated since Blaine was _exhausted_ and in a lot of pain due to his aching hips), Blaine and Kurt went to their final obstetrician appointment before the baby's birth. Doctor Banes had been seeing Blaine rather frequently since he hit 36 weeks so it wasn't like they never saw each other, but when she walked into the room that day, she beamed at the husbands and applauded, "It's the last week! Baby can come at_ any_ time now!"

"You said that_ last_ time," Blaine grumbled, hunching forward when a Braxton Hicks contraction began. Kurt rubbed the small of his back and hummed.

"Another contraction?"

"I hate these things. I just want the real ones to come so this will be over."

The doctor smiled sympathetically at Blaine, "Most people can't wait to give birth because by their later weeks, it just gets miserable, but then after the baby's born, they miss being pregnant."

"Yeah, we'll see," Blaine muttered under his breath and Banes just chuckled, gently guiding the man to lay down while she checked the baby's heartbeat and did an ultrasound. As she ran the wand over Blaine's incredibly swollen stomach, Kurt watched in awe as his son moved around a bit. He was _enormous_ now, Banes estimating that he was near seven and a half pounds, and on-screen, he looked so much different than he did in his previous scans. Plus, something else was showing up during the ultrasounds: little white wisps that showed up near the back of his head.

_"That's his hair," Banes had commented the first time Kurt pointed out the wisps. "Looks like he's got a lot of it too." And Blaine, at the time, groaned jokingly._

They were excited to see how much hair the baby had now, especially Kurt, who was hoping deep down inside that their son would come out with black hair that curled in unruly ringlets. Blaine, on the other hand, hoped their son would have beautiful straight chestnut colored hair like his other daddy. Of course, neither would know until he was born, but the mystery of it all was exciting to them and even the family placed bets on whose hair he would have (Blaine's was winning since only Blaine and Finn thought he was going to have Kurt's hair.) Smirking, Kurt kissed Blaine's knuckles and asked the doctor a simple question, one that he knew would rile his poor husband up, "Does his hair look curly to you or-"

"He's going to have your hair, Kurt," Blaine mumbled, exasperated. Kurt just kissed his hand again and listened as the doctor told him _again_ that it was hard to tell since the hair was just waving around in the amniotic fluid, _but_ it _was_ long, so the baby was probably going to have a hell of a lot of hair. Smiling, Kurt watched as the doctor did all she needed to do and once she was done, she asked Blaine if he had any questions and dismissed them once the appointment was over.

On the way home, Kurt walked alongside Blaine and watched as his husband, who was unusually quiet, stared straight ahead, as if he was lost in another world. "You okay over there?"

Blaine looked over at him for a moment and then directed his attention back to the unknown, "I'm just thinking about how strange it is for a male to go into labor."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like, I've had all the wonderful end of pregnancy tests done like a woman gets, but since there's- well, you know, not anything down there yet that a baby can come out of, there's no way of telling whether or not I'm in labor until the actual contractions start. Like, I could kinda be in labor now and until the hard contractions begin, that temporary birth canal thing isn't going to show up whatsoever. At least a woman dilates when she goes into labor and they can monitor that. I've gotta wait until I enter active labor to even begin doing anything."

"But Banes _and_ Laura told us that you'd definitely know when your labor began. The birth canal's formation is really painful, so once it starts, you'll know."

"Yeah, and I'm _so_ excited about that."

"Maybe you can get pain meds for it-"

"No!" Blaine interrupted, looking back at Kurt with wide eyes. "I know we kind of discussed this at class last week, but I don't want pain medication, not unless I need a c-section and pain medication is mandatory for that so... but if I can have him naturally, that's what I want."

"Are you sure?"

"I was on so many different medications while I was in the hospital after my fall and I don't want to deal with that before I have him. He was already exposed to those pain meds and everything while he was still growing and I don't want him to be exposed to all of that before he comes out either."

"But plenty of people-"

"Those people aren't me, Kurt," Blaine said, pausing on the side of the sidewalk to stare up at his husband. "I don't want any pain meds. I want to do things naturally and if it doesn't work out, then we'll talk medications, but not until then."

"Okay."

"I just- I don't mean to snap at you. I just, I'm so tired right now and I don't want to be tired and drugged up while I'm giving birth, you know? I at least want to be awake and present during everything and how could I be if I'm this tuckered out _now_ along with a cocktail of meds in me?"

"No, no, you're right. I understand," Kurt agreed as he took Blaine's hands. "No pain meds. If that's what you want, then that's what you get. You're the one having him. What you say goes."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

"I'm glad you know what you want because when you go into labor, I may just be completely useless."

Blaine scoffed, playfully pulling away from Kurt to shove at his chest. "I would hope not. I need you to make sure I don't go insane from the pain or something."

"I'll try my best, but I may just throw up or something if you start freaking out."

"Maybe we should get you meds then?" Blaine joked, locking his fingers with Kurt's as they headed to the subway. Kurt laughed and shook his head, leaning down to kiss the back of Blaine's neck.

"Yep. I'm going to need all the drugs that they'll want you to take. By the time you give birth, I'm gonna to be floating on air."

"Yeah, sure. We'll see about that."

Both men chuckled at each other's stupidity and made their way into the subway station, holding each other tight as they waited with the crowd to hop on the train. Kurt stared down at his husband, standing there in his almost too-tight plain colored t-shirt and board shorts, and he smiled. Blaine had one hand supporting the small of his back while the other was curled around Kurt's arm, and his stretched, swollen baby bump was all pushed out and adorable. In a week, this would all be gone and Blaine would be back to his old self and there'd be a baby between them, and their lives would be changed _forever_. Watching Blaine move his hand from his back to his belly to gently rub it, Kurt realized how much he would miss his husband being pregnant. He was going to miss being able to snuggle up to Blaine and hold him tight while their unborn son kicked at his touch. He was going to miss rubbing cocoa butter into the tender, itching flesh of his husband's belly, and most of all, he was going to miss the intimacy of everything and how much things had changed between them. He felt like they had grown stronger, closer in their bond now that they had gone through hell and back. When they started this journey, Kurt had still been so immature and scared and now he was ready. Blaine had been nervous and heartbroken and now he was prepared for anything. Together they had changed and grown and it was like their baby had brought them closer together, if that really made any sense.

Staring down at Blaine now, seeing all the changes his husband had gone through to bring this child into the world (even though the little guy wasn't there yet), made Kurt's heart flutter. He stared at Blaine's changed body, at his ridiculously (now) long, curly hair (which, when ungelled, curled around his forehead and ears like a halo and was too cute for words), and at how wonderful he looked pregnant.

"I love you," he whispered to him, watching as Blaine tiredly smiled back at him and parroted the words he loved to hear so much.

"I love you too."

::::::::::

Five days before his due date, Blaine felt like he had been sucked into a whirlpool and spit out into a _dirty,_ _messy, filthy_ world.

Nothing in their house seemed clean enough for the baby's arrival and he spent all morning, noon, and night scrubbing the place down from top to bottom. He dusted, he vacuumed, he scrubbed, and when he couldn't do certain things, he had Cooper or Kurt help him. They spent all day cleaning the apartment getting things ready for the baby and by the time the late evening news began airing on tv, all three men were completely exhausted from their work. Kurt and Cooper laid on the sectional, half asleep with part of their attention on the newscaster that was rambling on and on about gas prices; meanwhile, Blaine sat in the armchair with his arms curled around his belly, his fingers slowly trailing along the bump as he stared down at it.

"Thank you for shampooing the carpets earlier, Coop."

"It was my pleasure, squirt. I hope they're clean enough for your standards."

"They're spotless. I appreciate the hard work... and thank you for cleaning the bathrooms and Jenny's litter box, Kurt. I would've done it but I'm not allowed to work around that stuff so-"

"I wouldn't have let you clean them anyway," Kurt said softly, blinking slowly at his husband as the two of them shared a good, long amount of eye contact with each other. Blaine yawned and rubbed at his eyes for a moment before he carefully pushed himself out of the armchair and stretched his tired limbs, turning to Kurt with a sweet smile.

"I'm going to bed. Care to join me?"

"Ugh, if you guys are going to have sex, please keep it down. I don't want to hear that tonight, I need my sleep."

Blaine scowled, "We're not going to have sex. I'm way too tired for that. I just wanted to see if Kurt wanted to go to bed in our room before he completely zonks out on the couch with you, that's all. Get your head out of the gutter."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the two bickering brothers and stood up, leaning forward to kiss Blaine before he left him and Cooper in the living room to continue their arguing. Several minutes later, Blaine slipped into the bedroom and shut the door, padding into the en suite bathroom to brush his teeth. He leaned close to Kurt, who was in the midst of his nightly moisturizing routine, and gave him a minty fresh kiss before he shuffled into the bedroom and climbed into bed, rolling onto his side to wait for Kurt to come in and cuddle with him.

"You want to be little spoon tonight?" Kurt asked, rubbing some eye cream under his eyes.

"Yeah, if you don't care. My back hurts and maybe if you're pressed up against it, your warmth might make it feel better."

"I could rub it?" Kurt offered, but Blaine shook his head and protested.

"No. It's just a stupid backache, it'll go away. I think it's because we were working so hard today. It'll just fade on its own, all my other ones have."

"Well, if you're sure," Kurt said as he climbed into the blankets and pulled Blaine close to him. He tucked the sheets and such around them, thankful that the night was cooler than it had been lately, and closed his eyes, resting his nose against the back of Blaine's neck. His husband sighed happily in front of him and Kurt smiled, kissing the tender skin behind Blaine's ear before he closed his eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.

::::::::::

Four days before Blaine's due date, or approximately several hours after he fell asleep after spending all day cleaning the apartment the day before, Blaine woke up abruptly.

The entire house was deathly quiet minus the soft hum of the air conditioning and Blaine blinked sleepily against the pitch black of their bedroom. Kurt was spooned up behind him with his arms wrapped protectively around Blaine's middle and his soft, slow breaths puffed against Blaine's ear as he slept. At the foot of the bed sat Jennycat, who was coiled up near Blaine's feet, and when she felt him begin to move, she stretched and began purring loudly, making her way up the bed towards her now awake owner.

"What time is it?" Blaine questioned to no one in particular, his voice thick with lethargy. He blinked some more, allowing his eyes to become more focused in the dark and then he reached over to the nightstand to grab up his phone, frowning when he noticed that it was only four in the morning. "I'm up too early," he grumbled to his bump, gently rolling onto his back and cupping his hands at both the top and bottom of his stomach. As soon as his right hand came in contact with the top of his belly, a sharp, tense feeling ripped through him and he was borne over by a wave of pain.

_Oh god_.

His eyes squeezed shut and he whimpered, waiting for the ache to subside before he tried to move again. Once it disappeared, he panted out a few breaths and brushed Jennycat's head away from him so that he could sit up. As soon as his body was in an upright sitting position, a stinging, burning sensation tore up his lower half and he gasped audibly, hunching forward to immediately move away from the pain in his bottom.

_Oh my god. Oh god, oh god, oh god._

Whining, he crawled to the edge of the bed and slowly kicked one leg over the side and then the other before he collapsed to the floor in a hunched position on his knees, one arm thrown over his stomach while the other pathetically gripped the carpet. He was unsure how long he remained in that position before another one of those severe waves of agony swept over him, followed closely by a pointed pain in his lower half. Without a care, he sobbed, gasping for breath when the pain dulled away to an ebb.

"Kurt?" He whimpered, leaning up a bit to see if he could hear his husband moving around on the bed. Instead he heard nothing, so he tried again, whining out Kurt's name over and over until the bed creaked with movement.

"H-Honey? _Blaine_, where are you?"

"_Kurt-_" Blaine choked out and immediately the bedside lamp switched on and Kurt crocodile rolled to the other side of the bed, his sleepy blue eyes wide in shock.

"Oh god, Blaine!"

The younger man clutched at his stomach and ducked his head down, ashamed at the pain etched on his face, but it was unbearable and he could barely keep himself from flat-out turning into a sobbing mess. He could hear Kurt flip himself off of the bed to fall down on the floor next to him, but he didn't move, instead waiting until he felt Kurt's hands on him before he groaned loudly. "It hurts-"

"Baby, are you in labor?"

"I- I don't know. I t-think so. It hurts _so_ bad."

"Okay, honey, stay here. I'm going to wake Cooper and call Dr. Banes and I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

Blaine felt the slam of the door hitting the wall when Kurt threw it open and from his place on the floor, he could feel Kurt's footfalls beat down the hall as he ran to Cooper's room. Another pain trickled through his belly and he cried out, arching his back as the pain became evident there as well; seconds later, a pair of strong hands pressed against his spine and began petting the top of his head and he looked up to find both Cooper and Kurt staring down at him, both of their eyes wide with fear.

"I'm on the phone calling Banes right now, honey. Just breathe, okay?"

"Kurt's gonna get them on the line and we'll get you to the hospital, okay bub? You're doing just great. Keep breathing."

Blaine blinked back tears and dropped his head back down again, hissing through his teeth as the pain prickled all over his sore body. Cooper was rubbing his back, Kurt was rambling on the phone, and in his pounding head, Blaine could hear his own erratic heartbeat throbbing in his brain.

This was it, he was in labor. The baby was coming.

And he was so fucking scared.

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**A/N: We're so close to 500 reviews and I can taste it! Taste it, people! Gosh, I'm so excited. I'll be excited over any reviews obviously, but 500 by the end of this is a goal of mine so definitely let me know what you thought of this chapter (if you don't care!) Also, the baby's coming! Ahhh! Keep those baby name ideas coming in too! I'm liking what I'm seeing with those, but I still need more! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

**Warning: LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH IN THIS CHAPTER. KINDA GRAPHIC. JUST A WARNING. Oh, also the beginning letters at the start of this chapter were inspired by the lovely Klaine mpreg roleplaying tumblrs. You should check them all out as they are super adorable!**

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_To my little one,_

_In a few days you'll be here and you'll change our lives forever. Your daddy and I are so excited for your arrival, you know? The days are ticking away and you're getting bigger and ready to come out and it's so amazing to me that at one point in time, you were a tiny little speck inside your daddy's belly and now you're big and strong and so cute! You have your grandmother's nose - my mom's nose and also my own - and I'm a million percent sure you'll have your daddy's lips and wild hair, so I'm excited to meet you just to see what you look like and who you act like. You are so crazy already, always kicking and moving around and while I know it's hard for your daddy to carry you, I love watching you move. It still boggles my mind that within a week you'll be here in my arms squirming around, but I'm so excited to finally meet you and hold you and I hope you like me as much as I love you, my little one. You're coming into a family with so much love for you and you'll be able to meet them all once you come out, so I hope you're ready._

_I love you very much, my angel._

_Love,  
__Dad_

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_To my baby,_

_When I found out I was having you, I was the most excited that I've ever been in my life. You are my world and you aren't even here yet, but ever since I found out about you, I knew that you were what my life was missing. When I first heard your heartbeat, I was so in love with you. When you first kicked, I never wanted that feeling to end. And I'm sure that when I first see you and get to hold you in my arms, I'll be even more in love with you than I am now. You are everything to me, my baby. You've done so much for me even though you are still in the womb and I can never express how thankful I am that I was blessed to have you. I can't wait to meet you and see your little face, your tiny hands and feet, and your little self in general. I can't wait to kiss you and hold you and love you and I know your dad and the rest of our family can't either. You're going to love them all, baby boy. You've got two amazing grandparents that will shower you with gifts and hugs and kisses for the rest of your life. You have an amazingly talented, beautiful aunt and incredibly tall, lovable uncle, as well as another uncle that may call you a silly nickname, but you should humor him so he won't complain. Also, you'll have a best friend - her name is Jenny and she loves you already. I'm sure you'll recognize her purring when you're out here in the world. Oh, and there's also your dad, who I love very, very much and who also loves you. We both care about you so much and cannot wait to see you, so come soon (and safely), okay sweetie? We love you so much and I want you to know that I will love you for all of my days._

_Daddy loves you, baby._

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Kurt never expected labor to be anything like what Blaine was experiencing.

He wasn't dumb, he knew it was going to be painful, but Blaine was in excruciating pain, especially with the formation of this strange new (and thank god, _temporary_) birth canal. The cab ride to the hospital had been awful; Blaine had been unable to sit still due to the terrible cramping in his lower half and he spent a lot of the ride propped up against Kurt's shoulder as he squeezed the life out of his husband's hands and t-shirt. Halfway through the ride over, Cooper offered Blaine his hand in order to relieve Kurt from the crushing pressure, but instead of letting go of Kurt like they expected, Blaine released Kurt's shirt to clutch Coop's hand instead, thus leaving both men with throbbing fingers once he finally let go upon being taken from the taxi cab and into the hospital in a wheelchair.

That had been hours ago and now Blaine was sitting in a large birthing tub filled with warm water. He was still going at it all natural, but the farther along into his labor he got, the more painful it became, and Kurt hated to see his husband going through such agony.

Doctor Banes had been in and out to see them throughout the night and when it crept into the morning, she came by again to get to see how Blaine's progression was faring. Everything seemed okay, but the pregnant man still had a way to go before he could begin pushing, so they stayed in the tub and labored there for a while longer. Kurt sat behind Blaine, his arms gently holding his husband as Blaine moaned against his damp skin and whined low in his throat when a particularly rough contraction took over his body. It felt like poor Blaine was roasting in his skin and his hair was soaked with sweat and the water from the tub. He was sweaty and clammy and hot to the touch, but Kurt couldn't bear to move even though it felt like they were sticking to each other from all of the perspiration between them. After a long, painful gasp-worthy contraction ended, Blaine slumped against Kurt's form and panted, his head resting against Kurt's chest as he listened to the beating heart within.

"I love you," Blaine breathed, blinking his eyes shut as Kurt kissed the top of his hair.

"I love you too, honey. So much. You are so strong and brave and beautiful and I love you a lot." Kurt tightened his grip around Blaine's body and held him close, nuzzling his nose against Blaine's ear. "Not much longer until our son is here. Can you believe it?"

"I probably wouldn't if it weren't for the fact that he's trying to rip his way out of my body," Blaine lamely joked as he slowly pulled away to maneuver himself into a different position. When his back was pressed against Kurt's chest, he slunk down deeper into the shallow water and sighed. "I don't know how much more I can take of this. It hurts so bad."

"Oh honey-"

"I want him to be safe and I want to do this naturally, but it's hurting really bad. I just... it hurts."

"You're doing so good, baby, but if you want pain medication, I'd totally understand. No one will judge you; you're the one giving birth, sweetheart, none of us are."

"I just... I don't want the meds to mess with anything."

"Plenty of people who have babies take pain meds. You wouldn't be the first and you definitely won't be the last. Just do what _you_ want to do, Blaine. Do whatever will make it easier on _you_." Blaine nodded for just a moment before he whined again and his body tensed up in Kurt's arms. Kurt could feel how tight his husband's form had gotten, especially around his stomach and the lower part of his back, and he frowned when Blaine went to hold his breath due to the pain. "Oh honey. Breathe. In and out just like we practiced."

Blaine huffed out a breath and hissed as he tossed his head back to whimper against Kurt's jaw. The contraction lasted a bit and then ebbed away, giving Blaine a moment to breathe properly. "This is awful," he said pathetically, one hand dipping up out of the water to rub circles on his belly.

"Do you want me to go get someone and see if you can get an epidural or something?"

"No, no. I just want to do this and get it over with. I don't want to epidural to stall anything."

"Okay, okay. We can do that." Kurt covered Blaine's hand with his own and leaned his cheek against Blaine's hair. "Do you want me to get you something to drink or some ice chips? You're really warm."

"Do you think Coop could bring me some ice?"

Kurt hollered and the dark haired man peeked around the corner, smiling when he saw both Kurt and Blaine staring at him. "What can I get ya?" Cooper asked, stepping fully into the room to kneel down by the tub. He patted Blaine's hair for a second, "Do you want something cold to drink?"

"Ice. I need ice."

"On my way!" Cooper sped out of the room and with his absence, another person entered. The nurse, a kind young woman named Carly, smiled at the two men and took a seat at the edge of the tub to talk to them. She had been in and out of the room for most of the night, checking up on Blaine and having him get up and move around a few times before he retreated back to the tub, but this time as she sat there, she seemed a little disappointed.

"Blaine, sweetheart, I think we're going to have to get you moved around a bit."

"Moved around?"

Carly nodded, "Yep. You've been in the tub for quite a while now and it doesn't look as if the birth canal is forming as fast as it should. Since your labor is so strong right now, it would be best if perhaps you make a lap or so around the labor ward. Also, I would suggest squatting during your contractions - it'll help the canal open up better since you'll be stretching out more."

Kurt listened intently, watching as Blaine looked more and more horrified by the minute, but after Carly explained that walking around could speed up the labor, Blaine seemed determined to get out of the tub, so they helped him up and got him out within minutes. Carly disappeared from the room while the men changed into something more suitable for walking around the labor ward (jeans and a shirt for Kurt and a hospital gown and robe for Blaine) and then they stepped into the room, smirking when they caught Cooper leaning in the doorway batting his eyes at a blushing Carly.

"Quit flirting with my nurse," Blaine warned, waddling over to the bed to lean against it as a contraction started. Kurt stepped up behind him and gently rubbed his hands over the lower part of his husband's back.

"You okay, hun?"

"Fine," Blaine grunted out, dropping lower into a squat as Kurt fell into place next to him. As the contraction faded away, Blaine sniffled and Kurt's heart ached at the action.

"Honey?"

"It just hurts, that's all. I don't know why I'm getting so emotional."

"It doesn't hurt to cry, sweetie. No one's going to judge you."

"Hell, I cried the other day when Jenny scratched my knuckle. That cat's a douche," Cooper added and Blaine chuckled wetly.

"Jenny's a sweetheart. She just doesn't like pompous fuddy-duddies."

Cooper scoffed at the insult and walked into the room, ducking down next to his brother and bro-in-law, holding out a cup of ice. "Here's your ice, by the way. Sorry it took me so long... your nurse is smoking hot."

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway and all three men looked up to find Carly standing there, as pink in the face as the color of her scrubs, and Cooper laughed. Kurt and Blaine, however, rolled their eyes, and Kurt took the cup to pour a few cubes into Blaine's mouth.

"I'm going to go grab Doctor Banes for a moment so we can check your progress and then you two can go walk the halls for a while to speed up your labor, okay?" The woman swept out of the room and Cooper sighed, leaning back against the bed as he watched her leave.

"Do you think she'd be offended if I gave her my number?"

"_I'd_ be offended if you gave her your number," Blaine mumbled, pushing himself up to climb onto the bed. Kurt helped him get settled and then he waited until his obstetrician and nurse returned. "Also, I'm pretty sure she's creeped out by you."

"I think she likes me."

"You think everyone likes you."

"_Chip's_ gonna love me!"

"His name's not going to be _Chip_, so get over it."

The two brothers continued to bicker while Kurt sat on the sidelines and when Blaine's argument slipped away due to another contraction, Cooper finally shut up and took his brother's hand, watching closely as Blaine's face scrunched up in pain. "Sorry you're in so much pain, squirt."

"Me too, but it'll be worth it."

"Of course it'll be. _Chip_'_ll_ be here and everything will be awesome. I can't wait."

"Neither can I," Blaine hissed out. He curled in on himself for a moment and then exhaled slowly when the pain quit. "God, I hope she's right about walking around. The sooner this ends, the better."

"Aww, you're not going to miss being pregnant?" A voice asked from behind them and they all glanced up to find Doctor Banes smiling at them. Blaine made a strange noise and she nodded, moving into place at the side of the bed. She checked one of the machines, tutting softly as she looked over some papers, and then she went to the foot of the bed, carefully patting Blaine's calf as she looked up at the group. "We're just gonna do a quick ultrasound to see where the baby's moved and I'm also going to check to see how far dilated you are. Do you want anyone to leave or-"

Before she could finish her question, Cooper put his hands into the air and quickly backed away from the bed. "I don't think I want to see what a _temporary birth canal _looks like so I'm gonna bounce. Good luck, bro. I'll be in the waiting room waiting to hear from Burt and Carole. Come get me, Kurt, if you guys need anything." Everyone bid him goodbye and then Banes had Blaine get into position so she could check up on him. The ultrasound showed where the baby had dropped quite a bit, but the canal (which was the most painful part of the check-up) didn't seem to be forming as quickly as they liked. When Banes went to prod around down there, Blaine immediately tensed up and cried out, turning his head into Kurt's shirt to stifle his groans. Kurt held him close, chewing on his lower lip as Banes muttered out a stream of apologies while she checked.

"All done, Blaine. Sorry about that, I know it's painful, but it's gotta be done." She pulled off her gloves and looked at nurse Carly. "Go ahead and put the monitors back on him and he can walk around the ward for a bit to see if it'll help open him up any more. We can check back again in an hour or so." Carly nodded and the doctor left the room, leaving the nurse to place the baby's heart monitor back around Blaine's belly. When she finished, she told the couple they could move around the place to help the labor and then she left. Kurt did his best to help Blaine out of bed, but the younger man was still sore from the internal exam, so he hesitated before sitting up for the few seconds he needed to roll out of bed.

"It hurts so bad."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry."

Blaine sighed and pushed himself out of the bed and into Kurt's arms, pausing there for a moment to catch his breath before he righted himself. "I'm so glad you're here with me though. I'd never get through this without you."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Kurt whispered as he gave Blaine a soft kiss and then took his hand, slowly moving out of the room and into the hall where they would spend the next hour pacing back and forth trying to speed the labor up, pausing only for contractions.

::::::::::

"I'm glad you and Carole made it so quick."

"Well, it wasn't hard. Usually first babies take forever to get here and our flight wasn't very long at all, so we made it in good time."

Kurt cocked his head back to look at his husband, who was nestled in Carole's arms as the older woman stroked his back up and down. It was now nearing four in the afternoon and they'd been at the hospital for_ever_ and nothing seemed to change. Blaine was barely dilating but his pain levels jumped like crazy, so for the last hour or so, it was like he was a babbling mess. He was too hot, too tired, and just sick in general, and Kurt _hated_ it. Burt and Carole had just arrived and Carole immediately jumped into nurturing mother mode (as well as nurse mode) and she stepped in for Kurt while he went to the bathroom and caught up with his dad for a minute. Now though, he was just watching his step-mom soothe his distraught husband as another contraction ripped through him and his heart ached at the sight.

"I hate that he's in so much pain."

"It's hard to watch. I- I remember when your mom was gonna have you. She wanted to go natural too but the pain got to be too much for her to bear and she got some relief. I was glad because she wasn't hurting as much as she had been, but I know she wasn't too pleased with herself afterwards. She got over it after a while, especially when she realized that having pain medication wasn't that bad and you came out just fine, but she was upset nonetheless."

"That's what Blaine said. He doesn't want the epidural, but I think it'd make things easier. I mean, it's his body and he's the one dealing with this, but he's hurting so much-" As if to make a point, a pained sob came from across the room and Kurt almost sprinted to Blaine's side, freezing when Carole shook her head and he heard his husband muttering an apology for screaming.

Sympathically, Carole rubbed her son-in-law's back while she quietly shushed his apologies, "Honey, no, it's okay. You can scream or cry if you need to. Don't hide it."

Blaine hummed and rocked his hips a bit to soothe the pain and Kurt turned back towards Burt with tears in his eyes. "See?" He choked out, wiping the wetness away. Burt patted him on the shoulder and shook his head.

"Blaine'll be okay. He's got a good set of doctors and nurses helping him and he's got a hell of a support system with him right now. He'll be fine."

"I know, I just-"

"You're worried. Blaine's the love of your life and he's in pain and it's rough. But it'll work out in the end. You're about to become a father, bud, and- and-" Burt sniffled and Kurt bit his lip.

"Don't you start crying on me, dad."

"I'm not. There's something in my eye," Burt grumbled, smiling when Kurt stepped closer to him and enveloped him in his arms. "Love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, dad."

"I'm very proud of you, you know? Very proud. Proud of you too, Blaine," he called to the laboring man on the other side of the room, but Blaine didn't hear as he was busy panting out breaths against Carole's neck as he contracted.

When the two Hummel men finished hugging, Kurt pulled back and wiped more tears away before he crept over to where Blaine and Carole were. Ducking, he knelt down next to his husband and placed a firm hand over the small of Blaine's back. "Do you want me to step back in, honey?" He asked, leaning forward to kiss the sweaty side of Blaine's neck. Blaine shook his head and then went to stand up from his squat, leaning heavily on both Carole and Kurt as he rose.

"My legs feel like jello."

"Do you need any more ice chips, sweetheart?" Carole questioned, looking over at the empty glass sitting on the side table. Blaine muttered a confirmation and Carole gestured at Burt, who quickly caught on what she was showing to him. The older man took the cup and left the room on a search for more ice and while he was gone, Carole and Kurt helped Blaine back into bed. "Do you need me to page your doctor? I can go get someone."

Blaine shook his head and quickly rolled onto his side, throwing one arm over his stomach as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."

Kurt reached over and grabbed a tiny pink basin from the stand next to the bed. He held it next to Blaine's head as the younger man began vomiting profusely into it. Carole rubbed his back and Kurt gnawed on his lip as Blaine continued to heave up all contents of his stomach (which wasn't much at all other than the water he drank earlier and whatever bile was left in there.) For several excruciating seconds, the poor guy puked out his guts, finally stopping to spit the last of the bile out of his mouth before he rolled onto his back with a whimper.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no, honey, no. It's okay." Kurt soothed, slowly moving the basin away from the bed so he wouldn't spill anything on Blaine. He took the container to the en suite bathroom and set it in the sink before he rushed back to Blaine's side and when he took a closer look at his husband, he could see that Blaine was shivering. Even his teeth were chattering. "Oh sweetheart."

"I'm going to go get the nurse. I'll be right back," Carole said, dipping out of the room and past a confused Burt as the older man walked in and scrunched his nose up due to the strong smell of vomit in the air.

"You okay, Blaine?"

"I'm fine," Blaine whispered, his teeth still clacking together. Shaking his head sympathetically, Burt made his way over to the bed and held out the cup of ice to Kurt, using his free hand to pat Blaine's shuddering shoulder. "Looks like you're getting closer to pushing, bud. I remember this. Kurt's mom did the same thing."

"You mean this could be a sign that it's almost over?" Kurt asked as he looked between his husband and father in shock, heart racing at the thought that the baby could be coming sooner than he expected. Honestly, it wasn't like he wasn't ready or anything, but the idea that the baby could be coming _right now_ sort of freaked him out. Blinking rapidly, he took the cup of ice from his dad's hands and set it on the counter, then took Blaine's hands in his own. "Do you want me to cover you up or anything, Blaine?"

"Not cold, just scared," Blaine chattered out and Kurt smiled sadly. The two of them continued to stare at each other until extra voices filled the room and nurse Carly, along with two other nurses and Doctor Banes, came in. Carly immediately went to the monitors to assess the readings and Doctor Banes went to scrub up and put on a fresh pair of gloves. As the room got busier, Carole and Burt bid their goodbyes and went to hang out down the hall with Cooper. Kurt watched them leave, the fear of impending fatherhood creeping up on him too fast, but he was instantly snapped out of his dread when Blaine gasped and pulled his hand close to his chest.

"Honey?"

"Ooh, this is a strong one," one of the nurses commented as she watched the machine register the amount of pain the contraction brought. The doctor nodded and waited until it was finally over before she had Blaine spread his legs so she could check the forming canal. As soon as her hands got close to him, Blaine sucked in a sharp breath and jerked away, muttering an apology as soon as it happened. Banes didn't seem to mind however and mentioned that it happened quite a lot and that it was nothing new, and then she went back to her job, carefully inspecting and making sure everything was ready for the birth. As she checked, Blaine seemed to slip away into his own world, but the discomfort of the act was written all over his face if the tears and grimacing said anything. Kurt did his best to soothe his husband, gently stroking the tears away as they spilled down Blaine's cheeks, but as the test went on a little longer, the more pain Blaine seemed to be in.

"Is he dilated enough yet?" Kurt asked, hating that he sounded so impatient, but also very worried about the misery his husband was going through. Banes shook her head grimly and pulled back from Blaine's open legs, her lips tightly pursed together.

"It's not opening as much as it should. The baby is moving down in preparation for birth, but the canal isn't forming properly. We can start Blaine on a softening suppository to help speed things along and hopefully within an hour, we can start pushing. If that-"

"Dr. Banes?" Carly asked, effectively stopping the other woman from continuing on with her speech. Kurt's eyes darted up to the nurses and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed the serious look on her face.

_Oh no._

Banes stood up and made her way to the machine Carly was standing next to, her eyes skimming the papers the nurse held out in front of her. "_Oh_. Oh okay." Her lips thinned out again and Kurt swallowed the lump that quickly formed in his throat.

"What's wrong?"

Banes looked at the two worried men and gave them a reassuring smile (one that neither man thought looked very genuine, but neither said anything about.) "The baby's heart rate is a little low for our liking. Usually if the heart rate drops, it could be due to the contractions, but it could also be caused by the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby's neck. Now, the baby's heart rate isn't too dangerously low, so we're going to try and see if we can get it back up to safer levels before we do anything else, but-"

"How would we do that?" Kurt asked, his hands slowly squeezing Blaine's as he watched the doctor closely.

"Well, first we're going to have Blaine turn over. Lying on the left side increases blood flow to the baby by freeing up pressure, so we'll try that first, as well as supplementing some oxygen to you as well, Blaine, and then we'll just go from there."

Kurt nodded, flicking his gaze down at Blaine to find his husband in suspended disbelief. The man looked incredibly bothered by the news he just received and Kurt frowned, brushing his hand over the smoothness of Blaine's cheek. "Oh honey, it'll be okay."

"I don't... I don't know how this could happen. I did _everything_ right."

"I know you did, but these things happen sometimes. It'll be okay. We'll do what they need us to do and it'll be fine."

Around them the room buzzed with commotion as the nurses helped Blaine turn to his left side and lay; after he was situated, they slipped an oxygen mask over his face and one of them went to keep watch on the baby's heart monitor while the others puttered around the room and cleaned up the mess that Kurt left in the bathroom following Blaine's throwing up escapade. As they worked, Kurt sat next to Blaine and held his husband's hand within his own, worried blue eyes staring deeply into equally wide-eyed hazel ones.

"I love you," he said softly, stroking his thumb over Blaine's knuckles, and his husband blinked, tears running from his eyes to splash against the pillow. At the sight of Blaine's tears, Kurt's eyes watered as well and he leaned forward to kiss Blaine's hand. "It'll be okay, I promise. You'll be fine."

For several moments, things seemed to stand still in the small room. Nurse Carly stayed in her spot next to the monitor and watched as Blaine had a contraction. When it ended, Blaine cried softly as he struggled to keep calm and breathe in the oxygen from the mask strapped around his face. Kurt did his best to keep a brave face on in order to keep Blaine from freaking out, but it wasn't working as well as he hoped; however Blaine hadn't had a full meltdown yet, so that was good. Smiling sadly, Kurt stroked his hand through Blaine's now stiff curls and hummed under his breath. Across from him, Blaine whimpered and squeezed Kurt's hand tighter, tugging the arm close to his chest to press it against his heart. "Kurt, I'm scared."

"I know. It'll be okay."

"You don't know that."

"Baby, we just have to let the doctors do what's needed and everything will be fine. If you continue to worry about it, it'll just make things more complicated, but- but if you calm down, it'll help things." Kurt swallowed heavily, feeling the weight of the guilt that sat on his shoulders increase, because instead of feeling like he was soothing Blaine's frayed nerves, it felt like he was lying through his teeth, but he knew he couldn't let Blaine freak out right now, not with the baby's heart rate dropping so much. Licking his dry lips, he leaned closer to his fretting husband and rested his cheek against their joined hands. "No matter what happens, you'll be okay - you _and_ our little one. Doctor Banes is one of the best in her field, you told me so yourself, and I trust her and I know you do too and she's only doing this to make things alright."

"I know," Blaine sniffled and Kurt felt his heart clench. He couldn't do this, sit across from Blaine and tell him things that he could barely even believe himself, but before he could even say another word, the nurse behind them made a noise and then called for another one of her colleagues to get Doctor Banes. "What's wrong?" Kurt questioned, popping up to gauge the worried looks that passed between the nurses. "What is it?"

Banes came in and began speaking to the nurse in a low tone, one that made the hair on the back of Kurt's neck stand up and immediately, his hand was enveloped in a tight grasp as Blaine started panicking beside him.

"Blaine, calm down please."

"I can't- I- this is my fault-"

"Blaine," Banes began, stepping into Blaine's line of sight. "The baby's heart rate isn't getting any better, it's still very low and dropping and we don't want to take any more precautions with it. It would probably be better for us to head into a c-section." At the word _c-section_, Blaine immediately burst into tears and Kurt stood up to take his husband in his arms.

"It's okay, honey. It's okay."

Banes placed a calming hand on Blaine's shoulder, "We wouldn't do this if it weren't absolutely necessary, Blaine, but as of now, with your son's heart rate dropping at the rate it is, it's for the best that we get him out as soon as possible. Your birth canal just hasn't formed enough for us to have you birth him naturally and if we tried to wait, it could bring about dire consequences."

"I know," Blaine cried, doing his best to not completely freak out. He sniffed and sobbed brokenly for a second before he nodded, "Whatever we need to do to get him out safe and sound. I just- just want a h-healthy b-baby."

"Okay well, then we should get moving as soon as we can. Kurt, I'm going to need you to follow Carly and she'll get you set up in a set of scrubs for the surgery. Marie's already paged the anesthesiologist so we can get the spinal block set up and then we'll go ahead and get ready for delivery. Whatever we can do to help this poor little guy out." The room began bustling with movement and Kurt leaned down to whisper all the words of encouragement that came to him in Blaine's ear before he pressed his lips against Blaine's salty tear-slick cheek.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, baby, okay? I'll be back and we'll go have this baby and it'll be just fine."

"I don't want to be alone, Kurt. Can you get Cooper or Carole or somebody, please?" Blaine pleaded, his watery eyes wide in fear. Kurt shot a look to the doctor and she nodded.

"I'll go get them, okay honey? They'll be here as soon as possible and then I'll meet you in the OR and we'll have this baby. I love you so much."

"I love you too," Blaine whispered, watching helplessly as Kurt was lead away from the room. Around him, the rest of the nursing staff did various things to get him ready to wheel to the OR and he laid still, hissing in pain as an ache in his lower half crept up his body. A contraction hit him full force and he whined, hunching forward to clutch at his belly when the pain became too much to bear. Within seconds, a pair of cool hands cupped the sides of his face and he smelled roses - _Carole_ - and he could hear Cooper saying things to him on his other side.

"You're doing great, bub. It's almost over."

"I h-have to have a c-caesarean." His voice was merely a murmur and Carole sighed, brushing her hands through Blaine's thick hair as she cooed soothing words in his ear. Cooper added what he could, which wasn't much since he was a little dumbfounded by the whole situation, but in the middle of the two of them trying to calm Blaine down, the anesthesiologist arrived and everything quickly went to getting Blaine prepared to wheel down to the OR and get his spinal block.

Carole and Cooper hugged him close, both doing their best to calm him down, and once everything was ready for him to head to the operating room, the duo reluctantly let him go, Carole calling down the hall after him, "We'll be here when you and that beautiful baby come back, sweetheart. Good luck! We love you!"

And then he was gone and they were left in an empty room, both scared and excited out of their minds over what was going to happen next and whether or not Blaine (and the baby) were going to be okay.

::::::::::

Kurt stared at the blue-green scrubs that covered his body and sighed. Nausea crept up on him like a thief in the night as he stood there and looked up and down at his body at the hospital issued clothing that covered him from head to toe. In one hand, he held a hair net and a mask and he felt ridiculous just standing there by himself in the strange clothing. Outside the room, nurse Carly waited patiently for him to finish and once he felt suitable enough, he stepped out, looking up sheepishly at the nurse, who offered him a sweet smile.

"You look fine, Mr. Anderson-Hummel. The colors suit you, plus they match your eyes."

Kurt looked down at the scrubs and sighed, "I did everything you asked. I've got my scrubs on, I washed my hands in that crazy machine in there - _which I think they should have in every public place because people would have cleaner hands if they just used that thing_ - and all I need to do is put my hair net and mask on, so..."

"Well then, slip them on and follow me. Your husband's waiting."

Quickly and very, _very_ carefully, Kurt tied the mask onto his face and then tugged the hair net into position, falling into step behind the nurse as she led him through a maze of hallways and finally to Operating Theatre #1. The two of them stepped inside and Kurt was greeted with the sight of Blaine laying flat on his back, his belly and lower half completely exposed while he was still wearing his gown over his upper half (although it was pushed up and bunched under his armpits). His arms were splayed at his sides and he was staring up at the ceiling; it was obvious, even from his position on the other side of the room, that Blaine had been crying, and the sight tugged at his heartstrings. Holding back his own emotions, Kurt swept over to the middle of the room and dropped down onto a stool that had been left there on Blaine's left side for him to sit on. Gently, he brushed his hand over Blaine's forehead and smoothed back the damp curls that peeked out from his husband's own hair net, smiling even though he knew Blaine couldn't see it thanks to the mask.

"Hi honey."

"Kurt?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Sick. I feel terrible."

"Did they give you the spinal block?"

"Yeah and I can't feel anything. Nothing. I feel nothing."

"From where down?"

Blaine tilted his head to the side and wiggled his fingers, but the movements were choppy and slightly pathetic. "Everything's numb. My hands feel weird. I don't get it."

Kurt frowned and turned to look at the team of doctors and nurses that surrounded the room, but instead found himself staring at a strange sheet that had been raised over the area where Blaine would be operated on. There was some chatter beyond the curtain and then Doctor Banes' voice filled the air, "Blaine, can you tell me if you feel any of these touches?"

She poked at various spots on his stomach, some light pokes and others harder and more forceful, but with every touch, Blaine just blinked tiredly at the wall. "I don't feel anything."

"Great. Then we'll get started. Baby's heart rate is still a little low, so we're going to do our best to get him out as quickly and safely as possible. If you feel _anything_, let me know, okay Blaine?"

"Okay."

"Well, here we go."

Kurt turned his attention to his exhausted husband and sighed when he noticed Blaine's watery, red tinted eyes struggling to stay open. "Oh honey, you can rest if you want. You've had a long day."

"Can't," Blaine whispered, flicking his puffy eyes open and shut viciously. "Gotta stay awake to meet the baby. Can't sleep now."

"You can rest your eyes though. You look exhausted."

Blaine just shook his head as best he could and stared up at the wall, his hazel eyes lost in the whitewashed look of the room. Below him, behind the curtain, things were happening. Strange squishing sounds and the smell of blood and antiseptic trickled through the air and Kurt bit his lip, continuing his motions of stroking Blaine's cheek to keep himself from thinking too much about what was happening to his husband's body. Blaine, however, cocked his head to the left and nuzzled Kurt's palm, offering his husband a jaded smile. "I love you."

"Oh baby... I love you too. So, so much."

Blaine hummed thoughtfully and closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to slip away for a moment, and once he did so, Kurt pressed a mask-blocked kiss to Blaine's nose before he sat back on his stool and listened to the strange noises that occurred around the room. It wasn't until he wasn't busy watching Blaine that he noticed all the sounds around them: the monitors, the machines, the voices of the doctors and nurses, the tools being used to deliver the baby... all of them merged together to make one loud commotion and Kurt wondered if Blaine could hear them too in his sleepy haze.

As his thoughts wandered back to Blaine, Kurt directed his attention to his husband's face and he smiled, staring closely at the clammy skin of Blaine's forehead and cheeks and at how long his lashes were as they fanned out in clumpy, dark waves. His usually golden skin with its cute little freckles was abnormally pale except for his reddened cheeks and his lips were roughly chapped from all the licking and biting on them that he had done over the course of the day. Mentally, Kurt applauded himself for the bright idea he had to pack all of Blaine's skin moisturizers and lip balms and he told himself that once his husband was up to it, he was going to _personally_ make sure that his skin and lips were _very_ well taken care of.

Smiling, Kurt stroked his husband's hand and leaned back a bit to peer around the curtain; a doctor was blocking his sight from seeing anything, but he did hear a gush and a loud gasp, so he knew _something_ had happened. Luckily, Doctor Banes was kind enough to clue him in.

"Just burst the bag of waters. We're almost there."

A rush of excitement swam through Kurt's veins and he leaned in close to Blaine, gently kissing the younger man awake until his lashes fluttered open and his reddened amber eyes came into view.

"W-What is it?"

"He's almost here, sweetheart. Our baby's almost here."

"He is?"

"Yes! They just popped your waters and he's going to be here soon."

"I hope he's okay," Blaine whispered and Kurt nodded, clutching Blaine's hand tightly.

"He will be. He'll be just fine."

"Okay boys," Banes called from over the curtain. "I can see his head and he has a _full_ head of incredibly _dark_ hair. Blaine, it looks like it's your shade!"

"Oh my god-"

"Here we go. C'mon little guy." Below him, the doctors pulled and tugged but Blaine could not feel a thing. He laid there, eyes focused on the wall, his teeth chattering for no good reason, and Kurt was practically vibrating out of his seat next to him.

"He's almost here," Blaine said with a tired smile, blinking back tears when Kurt grinned back at him, his own eyes filling up as he bit his lower lip.

"God, Blaine, I-"

A tiny cry pierced the air and both men froze. Blaine looked over at Kurt and Kurt looked down at Blaine, the tears in his eyes steadily running down to dampen his face mask.

"Oh _Blaine_-"

"It's a boy!" Banes announced from the other side of the curtain and then one of the nurses pressed down the sheet to lower it a bit before a little baby was propped up above them, wailing and squirming in Banes' grasp as the doctor held him up for Kurt and Blaine to see.

"Oh my god," Blaine breathed out, eyes so tear-filled that it was hard to even see the little human being presented to him, but it didn't even matter that he could barely see him. What mattered most was that he could _hear_ him, hear him crying and making noise and proving that he was alive and okay and Blaine immediately began bawling.

That was okay too because Kurt was already crying pretty hard next to him, his voice high-pitched with emotion as he babbled over how much he loved Blaine and their son, and when Banes passed off the screaming baby to a nearby nurse, Blaine used his numb hand to slap at Kurt's arm.

"Kurt. Honey, go check on him. Please, Kurt!"

Kurt looked down at his husband and quickly kissed Blaine's lips, rising from his seat on the stool to rush over to the side of the room where a group of nurses tended to his baby. As he got closer, he could hear them saying something about his little boy coming out with the cord wrapped around his neck twice and how he was a little blue at first, but that he had a lovely set of lungs on him based on how loud he was crying. Still in a daze, Kurt stepped up to the tiny plastic crib that his son was currently being cleaned off in and he smiled, his heart two seconds away from bursting from his chest as he observed his baby boy.

There _he_ was in all his glory, pinkish in hue with a ridiculous amount of hair capped on top of his tiny head. He was chubby, which was hilarious, and he had Kurt's nose and what looked like Blaine's bow-shaped lips, and he had all of his fingers and toes (Kurt counted, he just _had_ to) and when the baby punched his tiny fist in the air and let out a particularly loud wail, Kurt felt like he had just heard a high-pitched version of Blaine himself crying.

"Oh... he's perfect."

"It's amazing, isn't it? Nine months in the womb and then you get this little miracle!" One of the nurses said as she lifted the baby from the crib and passed him to another nurse who measured him, calling out that he was eight pounds, six ounces and 21 inches long. Kurt's mouth fell open at the stats and he peered down at his baby boy completely impressed.

"He's bigger than we thought he'd be," he remarked, smiling when the baby's tears calmed and the little guy blinked up at the ceiling with beautiful dark blue eyes framed with little, dark (although pretty long for a newborn) eyelashes. "You have your daddy's eyelashes, sweetie." Kurt cooed at the newborn. As he watched on in awe as the nurses cleaned the little tyke up, the baby cried just a little bit, thrusting his little arms and legs about as he whined.

And Kurt was _so_ in love.

::::::::::

Blaine laid on the operating table, his head titled to the right as he watched Kurt hover over the spot where their son was being cleaned off. The baby's soft cries filled the air and mingled in with the sounds of the doctors below him talking while they cleaned him up and stitched him shut, but all Blaine could think about was how he wanted to see his baby. Kurt was still enamoured by the little one, having not once turned around to say anything to Blaine, and it kind of hurt, but Blaine understood; they had both been worried sick over the baby's heart rate dropping.

"You feeling okay up there, Blaine?" Doctor Banes asked and Blaine nodded before he realized that she couldn't see him over the curtain, so he muttered a quiet _yes_ and turned his attention back to the baby, blinking back the tears that pooled in the corner of his eyes.

"Is he okay?"

"Looks and sounds like it, dear. Kurt will bring him over to you as soon as he's cleaned off, I'm sure. How are you feeling though? Tired?"

"Very."

"Well, you can rest up. We're almost done and then we're going to stitch up the canal opening before we send you back to recovery."

"I want to see my baby first."

"Okay. Or you could stay awake for that too," Banes chuckled, the sound of her laughter mixing in with the clatter of instruments being dropped onto the metal tray. Blaine blinked his eyes open and shut slowly and he wiggled his prickly numbed fingers, hoping Kurt would see him moving around and bring him their baby.

"Kurt?"

The older man turned for a second and then gave Blaine a huge smile before he turned back to the crowd of nurses. He didn't turn back around for a couple of minutes, but when he did, he was holding a little bundle wrapped in a blue, white, and yellow patterned blanket. "Hey honey," he whispered, coming closer to Blaine with the bundle. "Meet our son." He lowered his arms and Blaine's heart swelled at the sight of the dark-haired baby nestled inside. The newborn's long lashes fluttered open to reveal pretty blue eyes and Blaine reached out, brushing his fingers against the soft, downy hair.

"He's perfect."

"I know. Y-You did this, Blaine. Look at what you did."

"You helped."

"But you did all of the work, baby. You brought him into the world and I'm so, _so_ proud of you. God, I love you so much."

"I love you too," Blaine whispered, turning his attention away from the baby's face to stare up into his husband's eyes. Admiration shown all over Kurt's face and Blaine felt himself blush over the look, but Kurt just tutted and kissed him.

"You're amazing. I'm so proud of you."

Blaine smiled and looked back at the baby, pleasantly watching as his son squirmed and made the tiniest little noises as he listened to the sound of his parents' voices. "Now that he's here, he needs a name."

Kurt shook his head in agreement and held the baby closer, obviously very smitten with his son and the sight made Blaine's heart grow ten times its size. "Do you have any ideas?" Kurt asked, looking at Blaine for a second before he turned his attention back to the child in his arms.

"I have some ideas now... now that I can see his face and everything."

"You do? What are you thinking?"

"Well, he kinda looks like a _Clark_ to me."

"Clark? As in like... _Superman_ Clark?"

"Well, now that you put it that way... yeah, I guess? Look at him. He's got dark hair and blue eyes, just like _Superman_. And Clark means _scholarly_, so maybe he'll grow up to be a smart young man." He stared up at the baby for a moment and then looked back at Kurt, "Do you like it?"

"It's not bad. I can see where you're coming from. Hmm, _Clark_." He sang the name a few times to the baby to test it out and then frowned, "He'll still need a middle name though."

"Umm, we don't have to go with Clark if you don't want to. We can still talk about it and-" Blaine yawned, his body reminding him of how exhausted he was and when Kurt saw the action, he gave Blaine a stern _look_. "Don't do that," Blaine grumbled. "I'm not going to sleep until we've named our son."

"We don't have to name him right off of the bat, honey. We should think about this."

"What about Ian? Like Ian Clark? Or Clark Ian? What about that?"

Kurt nodded thoughtfully and looked down at the bundle in his arms, lips quirking as he stared at their son. "Hey there little guy, how does Clark sound? Do you like that? _Clark Ian Anderson-Hummel,_ okay whoa that's a mouthful. How about _Ian Clark Anderson-Hummel_? What about that?" The baby remained silent and Blaine chuckled tiredly, brushing his fingers against the soft white blanket wrapped around his son.

"I also like the name Owen... and Tate. And maybe Landon. I don't know. I don't know what to name him."

"You should rest and then we can talk more about names once you're in the recovery ward, sweetheart. You look like you're about to pass out on me."

"I feel like I'm going to pass out," Blaine added with another yawn and Kurt rolled his eyes fondly, leaning down as well as he could with the baby in his arms, and gave Blaine a kiss.

"Rest, honey. We'll be here when you wake up and then we can name him properly. I don't want to give him a name he'll hate for the rest of his life just because his daddy was too exhausted to remember anything."

"His daddy just labored for several hours and had to have major surgery. I think I have an excuse," Blaine teased. He watched as Kurt smiled at him and the longer he stared at his husband cradling and cooing at their son, the dimmer his eyesight got. "Love you," he breathed out right before he fell into a much-needed sleep and Kurt just beamed at him, pride painted all over his features as he watched Blaine's lashes flutter shut.

"I love you too... more than you'll ever know."

* * *

**A/N: AHH! Baby's here! And he still doesn't really have a name. I've been going through all of your suggestions and they're all lovely, but some of them are names I've seen in other mpregs that I don't want to use because I don't want any other authors thinking I've stolen their names (and I have _no_ idea if anyone's used the names Ian or Clark, so I just used them in this chapter as an example, so if you don't mind, still send me name suggestions that sound good with the last name _Anderson-Hummel_. I still need them even though the baby's here!) Also, I hope you liked this chapter especially since I've never had a baby in my life and all my birthing knowledge comes from tv shows and youtube so... I know it probably wasn't what some of you wanted to see and I'm sorry if I disappointed you in any way. This storyline was just something that wouldn't leave my head and if I end up writing a sequel to this in the future (like my brain wants me too) then I could definitely explain the method to my madness more with that... but it all depends, I guess. I don't know if I'll do the sequel or write something else instead (there are two completely different storylines in my brain right now, both mpreg related so yeah). I'll let you know by the end of this story. Oh, and my sincerest apologies for the delay in getting this out. I had the craziest week - I went from planning on having this posted over the weekend, to going to help a friend move, getting a call that my aunt had given birth to my new baby cousin (after she had a devastating miscarriage the year before), and then two days later, an aunt on the other side of my family passed away, so things were pretty all over the place in my world. But, I'm back and I hope to have the next chapter out very soon and I appreciate all of you for reviewing and asking if I was okay and being just lovely in general. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and thanks for reading! Almost to 500 reviews! Yay!**


	29. Chapter 29

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not songs or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

* * *

_I'm a father_.

The words kept repeating themselves in Kurt's head as he slipped out of his scrubs and got ready to go deliver the news that he and Blaine were now officially parents. He kicked off the sterile clothing and took a look at himself in the mirror, grinning when he saw just how tired he looked. There were bags under his eyes, his skin was slightly sallow, and his hair was all over the place, flopping here and there and in front of his eyes... but he never felt happier.

It was like he was floating on air.

_I'm a father._

Just minutes before, he exited the operating room and watched a nurse take his son to the nursery with the promise that he could return with his extended family soon to come and see the baby. Blaine was still being worked on, having fallen asleep after the birth (which was expected based on how worn out the other man was, especially now that Kurt knew, thanks to Dr. Banes, that Blaine had suffered a fair amount of blood loss from the surgery), so Kurt was on his own at the moment.

_We're officially daddies._

Balling up his scrubs, he tossed them into a waste reciprocal, smoothed down his clothes (a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt), and looked back at his reflection in the mirror. Earlier when he had been in that room changing into the scrubs, he stared at himself in the same mirror and thought about how the next time he'd see himself, he'd be a changed man.

And changed he was.

Now he was someone's dad, someone's protector. He had a whole new responsibility in his life and a whole new role in general. No longer was he just Kurt Anderson-Hummel, Vogue website editor and husband to Blaine, but he was also a daddy to a perfect little human being... a _son_.

Smiling, Kurt stepped away from the mirror and exited the room, turning to head down the long hall to the labor ward waiting area where he knew his family would be. He had some amazing news to share with them and he couldn't wait to get there.

::::::::::

"It's a boy. Eight pounds, six ounces and twenty-one inches long."

A group of shocked, ecstatic faces looked up at Kurt's words and then immediately burst into jubilant congratulations. Burt and Carole hopped up out of their seats and enveloped Kurt into their arms while Cooper, Rachel, and Finn celebrated with each other over the wonderful news. Burt couldn't stop the tears from falling as he hugged his son, his emotions going over the top as the news that he was _finally_ a grandfather settled in. Carole was crying too, excited for her stepson to start this new life adventure, and when she pulled away from the group hug, she stepped back with a smile, happy to allow her husband to have a moment with his son.

"Kurt, I'm so happy for you."

"I'm happy too, dad."

"What's he look like? Does he have your mom's nose like it showed on the ultrasound?"

"Yep," Kurt said with a blush, darting his watery eyes to the floor. "He's beautiful. He has mom's nose, Blaine's lips and eyelashes, and his eyes actually remind me of Cooper a little bit... oh, and he's got Blaine's hair too. He's so cute." A cheer erupted from Rachel and Cooper at the mentioning of the baby getting the _cursed _curls and Kurt turned red at that too. "Dad," he whispered as he looked up at his father, "I am so in love with him."

"I knew you would be, kiddo."

"He's just- he's perfect in every way. He- He gave us quite a scare earlier because the cord was wrapped around his neck, but he's fine now and- and when I saw him for the first time, it was like I _knew_ that no matter what else happens to me in the future, nothing is going to be more important than him. Nothing."

Burt's eyes watered again and he smiled at his son proudly. "I'm so glad to hear that, Kurt. You had us worried for a while, you know?"

"I know. I just- I was so stupid and I definitely know that now, especially since he's here. God, he's just amazing, dad. You guys should come see him before visiting hours end."

The group nodded their agreement, excited to see the baby, but before they headed out, Cooper reached out and took Kurt's wrist within his grasp. "How's Blaine? Is he okay?"

Kurt frowned at his forgetfulness over not telling everyone how Blaine was doing. He looked at the group and then specifically at Cooper as he spoke, "Blaine's heading to recovery. They were stapling him up as I left and he was resting. He did an amazing job and I'm so proud of him. He's... he's really exhausted though and his doctor told me that he did lose quite a bit of blood from the surgery, so he'll probably be sleeping for a while until he's feeling 100%. When he gets up, we're going to discuss the baby's name."

"_Chip_ doesn't have a name yet?"

"No. Unfortunately the _baby_ is unnamed. We just couldn't decide and Blaine was too worn out from the delivery, so we're going to talk more about names when Blaine's feeling better. You guys can toss out suggestions though. We're stumped over what to name him." As he talked, he led the group to the nursery, where they all stopped and paused outside of a large window. Kurt disappeared to go be with the baby and a couple of minutes after he left, he appeared on the other side of the window with his arms wrapped around a little blanketed bundle.

"Here he is," he said, walking closer to the group of onlookers; his voice was a little muffled from the thick glass that separated him from the group, but no one cared because they were too busy starting at what was in his grasp. Everyone pressed up against the window and Rachel and Carole instantly cooed at the tiny baby nestled in Kurt's arms.

"Oh, Kurt, he's gorgeous!" Rachel admired, reaching over to pinch Finn's arm as her husband peered down at the baby.

"He looks like Blaine."

"I know! That's exactly what I was thinking," Cooper added. He whipped out his cell phone and snapped a few shots of his nephew, beaming as he did so. "Poor kid's going to have a hell of a time with his hair."

"I like his hair," Kurt grumbled, but the smile on his face showed that he took no offense at the comment. He cradled his son a little closer and then moved towards his dad, tilting his arms a bit to give Burt a better look. "Say hi to grandpa, honey. _Hi grandpa_!"

Burt sniffled and wiped at his eyes with a balled up fist. It was so strange for him to see his little boy like this, to see his son standing there holding his own child. Just the sight was like best gift he could ever ask for, especially when he thought about all the rough times he and Kurt dealt with. He thought about Kurt losing his mom at such a young age and how much he dealt with in school over his sexuality. He remembered Kurt coming out to him and what things were like when his son first fell in love. Then, of course, he remembered the heartbreak and the crying and the pain and then the ultimate reconciliation that later on led to marriage and some other issues and now _this_: his grandson.

Honestly, Burt (when he first thought about Kurt possibly being gay way back before his son even started kindergarten, way back during his obsession with the pink Power Ranger and high heels) had wondered if he would ever get grandchildren out of his son. Selfishly back then he worried that Kurt would have a hard time finding love in Ohio and ultimately get settled down to start a family, but then he found Blaine and things fell into place - though it took a while for the puzzle pieces to get put back together again. Now though, his son and son-in-law were parents to a beautiful, healthy baby boy and it was more than Burt could ask for. Especially when he was standing there staring at his son hold his own baby boy like he was the most valuable, precious gift he had ever received and the thing was... he was.

Smiling, Burt put his arm around Carole and the two of them marvelled at their first grandchild. Carole made a crack at Finn and Rachel about catching up, to which the young couple blushed, but after that, everyone just stared at their newest family member with such awe and love that they had no words.

It was the perfect moment, a happy moment of coming together that everyone needed after the crazy ride that had been Blaine's pregnancy.

::::::::::

Cooper ducked out of the hospital for a minute to catch a quick breath of fresh air. Everybody else stayed to talk to Kurt for a bit before they left the hospital for a late dinner and Cooper promised to meet up with them as soon as he was done doing what he needed, so they left him alone and he slipped outside with his phone in hand. He scrolled through the pictures that he had taken of his nephew and attached a few to some text messages, his lips pursed as he clicked _send_ on each one.

From Cooper:  
_He's here and he's perfect. He also looks like Blaine_.

Within a few minutes, his phone dinged and lit up and he shakingly opened the message, smiling to himself when just seconds later, his phone began ringing in his hand.

"Hello?"

"Cooper?"

"Hey mom. Did you like my message?"

The sound of crying answered him and he smiled, "I'm going to take that as a _yes_."

::::::::::

Hours after the delivery, Kurt found himself lounging in one of those uncomfortable hospital recliners. He was slipping in and out of consciousness, so exhausted from the day's events, but he just couldn't stay asleep no matter how hard he tried. He would start to doze and immediately jerk up and look over at Blaine, looking to see if his husband was awake yet or not, but each time he was met with Blaine's sleeping face, so peaceful and calm now that he finally got the rest he deserved. Yawning, Kurt quietly pulled his chair over to the bed and settled down in it, one arm resting next to Blaine's, their hands locked together as he finally succumbed to sleep.

::::::::::

_"Now you take care of your brother, you hear?"_

_Blaine paused outside of the hospital room and stared up at his mother, watching as a sad look passed across her face before she lifted her free hand (the other was busy holding Blaine's) to knock on the door. A gruff voice answered them and then the door opened as a teary-eyed Cooper stepped out, the emotional teen wiping his eyes as he slipped past his mom and little brother._

_"Mama, why's Coop crying?"_

_"Don't you worry about Cooper, Blaine. Just go in there and see your grandpa."_

_Blaine stepped into the room, gently guided towards the bed that housed his sickly grandfather. The elderly man turned his head as best he could and smiled at the sight of his youngest grandson. Cautiously, Blaine edged closer to the bed and then paused before he got too close. His grandpa rolled his eyes and patted the mattress, "Come sit with me, Blaine."_

_"I don't think that's such a good idea," his mom interjected, but the old man would have none of it and waved her off._

_"Let a poor old man see his grandchild. Come on, Blaine. Come up here and sit next to grampy."_

_Blaine climbed up on the bed and sat next to his grandfather's blanketed legs, carefully maneuvering himself to sit close to his ailing grandpa. "You okay, grampy?" He asked, eyes wide as he took in how pale and tired his favorite grandparent looked. The old man before him chuckled quietly and took Blaine's tiny hands into one of his own frail ones, staring at him with the same bright blue eyes that Cooper inherited._

_"Grampy's not feeling too well right now, buddy. But I wanted to spend some time with my boys-"_

_"Mommy says you're really, really sick."_

_The man shot a dark look to the worried woman standing in the doorway before he turned his attention back to the youngster sitting next to him, "Your mom's right, but I'll be better soon."_

_"Don't lie to him," the woman interrupted, but she quieted when her father-in-law shushed her._

_"Blaine, you know I love you right?"_

_"I love you too."_

_"Well, that's good. Now I have something I want to give you. I gave something to Cooper as well, but this right here is for you," he reached over and took a small golden pocket watch off of the side table and placed it in Blaine's small hands. "This is my favorite watch. I want you to have it so that it'll remind you of me."_

_Blaine's eyes widened as he stared at the object in his hands. For years he admired the watch and loved watching his grandpa check the time on it; it was his favorite item and now it was all his. "Thanks grampy!" He gasped as he enthusiastically leaned forward and hugged his grandfather, smiling wide and showing off the gaps in his teeth from where the baby ones had fallen out._

_His grandpa smiled back and gently patted the little boy's head, "You take care of it, okay? And remember that I love you very, very much, my little Blaine."_

_That was the last time Blaine saw his grampy. Two days later, William J. Anderson died._

::::::::::

The room was dark when Blaine finally woke up. His hand was enveloped by something warm and someone was snoring softly next to him, the sound of their breaths mixing in with the various machines hooked up around the room. Yawning, he blinked against the darkness and turned his head to the side, smiling when he spotted Kurt sleeping next to him, his husband's body curled up in an armchair as he held one arm out and linked hands with Blaine.

"Kurt?" He whispered, pausing to yawn again before he turned back to his husband. "...Kurt?"

"Hmm, _huh_? What?"

"What time is it?"

Kurt opened his sleepy eyes and carefully sat up, reaching back behind him to click on the light above Blaine's bed. "You're awake."

"Yeah. What time is it?"

Kurt reached around for his cellphone and clicked it on when he found it, "It's after four. You've been asleep for a while now. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Really, really tired," Blaine chuckled, reaching out to grab Kurt's hand again, which his husband happily took. "Where's the baby?"

"Back at the nursery. They're supposed to bring him to us when you woke up, so now that you're awake, I can page someone and see if they'll bring him even though it's pretty late."

Blaine nodded and placed an arm over his flattened stomach, grimacing when he noticed how squishy and strange it felt now that there wasn't anything growing in it. Rolling his eyes, Kurt smiled at him and gave him a kiss, murmuring under his breath that Blaine was gorgeous and to quit poking at his belly before he left the room to fetch someone, coming back a few moments later with a tiny crib trailing behind him, as well as a young, smiling nurse.

"Hi Blaine! I'm Samantha and I'll be your nurse for the next few hours. Glad to see you're awake. Are you in any pain?"

"Just a little," Blaine admitted, looking away from Kurt's worried look as he picked at the blanket that covered his lower half. The nurse buzzed about, giving him some more pain medication, and then she ran through a few more questions with him while Kurt lifted their son out of his bassinet and held him close.

After the interrogation, the nurse showed the guys how to change the baby, as well as feed him and hold him. A lot of the stuff they already knew from their parenting classes, but navigating the diaper change was pretty crazy due to the baby's umbilical cord stub. However, they were quick learners and caught on rather fast, so once she was satisfied that they could handle things on their own for a while, the nurse left them alone for a bit while they bonded with their son and debated names again.

"Have you thought of anything else? Or did anyone give you any suggestions?" Blaine asked, slowly dipping his hands underneath the baby to officially hold him for the first time. Nurse Samantha had laid him down on the bed in front of Blaine for the diaper change, so he was in the perfect spot to be lifted by his daddy. As he picked up his son, the baby made a tiny little sighing sound and Blaine's heart melted. "Oh my god, he's so precious."

"I know. I love him so much already."

Blaine smiled and held his son close to his chest, gently leaning in close to breathe in the scent of his own child, as weird as that seemed. The baby's dark wispy hair stuck up all over the place and it looked like it was going to curl, much to Blaine's chagrin. Carefully, he removed one arm out from under the baby's body to stroke at the slight curls on the top of the infant's head and when he brushed his finger against his son's scalp, the wee one in his arms yawned, making Blaine's heart swell with emotion.

"Oh _Kurt,_ look at him-"

"I am," Kurt murmured, eyes locked on both his husband and son as he stared at his new little family. Just seeing Blaine there with the baby made everything better. He didn't realize how much he would fall in love with Blaine all over again, but today proved to him that he was still falling for Blaine every single day. Watching his husband triumph over labor and all the pain he went through to bring their son into the world sparked a deeper, fuller emotion in Kurt's heart. He _adored_ Blaine, he _loved_ him wholeheartedly, and he would always admire his husband's strength. "I love you. Both of you."

"We love you too," Blaine breathed, kissing his son's tiny upturned button nose, and Kurt took a seat at the edge of the bed to just observe and bond with his family.

His _family_ - it had a lovely ring to it.

::::::::::

"He needs a name. Poor little guy's nameless and he's been out here for almost half a day!"

Kurt closed the door to the en-suite bathroom and climbed onto the bed to sit cross-legged across from his husband and son, fondly watching as Blaine cradled the little boy against him. They had spent the better part of an hour bonding with their son, as well as each other, and now it was time to actually give their child a name. It was a scary thought, but it had to happen, and Kurt just kept his eyes on the baby as he spoke, "Cooper said we should name him _Chip..._ obviously_;_ that or _Cooper_ after his uncle."

Blaine laughed and rolled his eyes, lifting the baby up to his face to press a kiss to his feathery dark hair. "Your Uncle Cooper is an idiot, sweetheart. I'm sorry you'll have to deal with him. He means well, but he's dumb." The baby blinked his blue eyes open and Blaine gasped, "Oh my god, I didn't realize how much he looks like my grandfather."

"Which one? The one who left you the pocket watch?"

"Yeah... wow. He really reminds me of Gramps. That's so strange."

"I wish I could have met your grandpa. From your stories, he seemed like a great guy."

"He was... I bet he would have loved you too. I would like to think he would've accepted me being gay, but he died before I even knew that I liked boys, so..." Blaine trailed off, staring down at his son as the baby gurgled and watched him. Even in his tightly wrapped blanket burrito, the little guy squirmed and the movements made Blaine smile as he watched him. "Hey... what about _Liam?_"

"_Liam_?"

"Yeah, he reminds me of my grandfather and Grampy's name was William... so, _Liam?_ What about that?"

Kurt leaned over and looked down at the infant nestled in Blaine's arms. He ran his fingers along the baby's chubby cheek and smiled, "I like it. It's much better than _Clark_."

"Hey now! _Clark_ is an awesome name... just not for this little guy at least. He looks more like a Liam now that I can really look at him."

"Well now that that's settled, he needs a middle name."

"What about _Elijah_? Like... it could be a play on your middle name and also an honor to your mother?" Blaine asked, his lashes fluttering as he stared up at Kurt. Kurt's lower lip disappeared between his teeth as he looked at the baby for a long moment, his eyes studying the little boy closely. His mother's name was Elizabeth and his real middle name was Elijah, but after his mom's death, he had his dad change it to honor her. Now, decades later, Blaine was suggesting his former middle name as their _son_'s middle name and it was crazy... and also pretty amazing.

"_Liam Elijah_. Liam Elijah Anderson-Hummel." Kurt looked at his son for a few more seconds before he smirked, "Hmm. No matter what name we give him, it's gonna be a doozy to pronounce, won't it?"

Blaine laughed. "He's stuck with the last name _Anderson-Hummel_, the poor kid is going to hate us when he has to learn how to write his full name."

Both men chuckled and Kurt leaned down and kissed his son's forehead, "I like Liam Elijah. It's perfect."

"Fantastic. Welcome to the family, _Liam_." Blaine whispered, "It's great to finally meet you."

::::::::::

Liam spent a few hours in the room with his daddies until Blaine started to get really tired again and needed another dosage of his pain medication. The nurse on duty came and took the infant back to the nursery with the promise that Kurt could come and get him whenever they were ready, so after they were gone, Kurt curled back up in his armchair and dozed off with Blaine at his side.

Hours later, Kurt's cellphone began vibrating incessantly against his leg and he woke up to a message from Cooper that the family was on their way to the hospital, so he quickly got up, took a shower, and got ready to meet them. Blaine was just waking up for lunch as he was stepping out, so Kurt promised to bring the baby back with him when he went to meet up with his dad and the others. Cooper, Carole, and Burt were at the front of the maternity ward when he arrived, all of them looking fresh-faced and excited at the sight of Kurt when he appeared in front of them.

"We're going to swing by the nursery first and then go back to our room," he told them and the group nodded and followed Kurt down the long hall to the nursery. Everyone had to pause though when they found a bit of a traffic jam in front of the large nursery windows. A group of expectant mothers and their spouses were parked in front of the window cooing at the babies behind it. However, upon closer inspection, Kurt found that they weren't just giddy over _all_ of the babies, but _one_ in particular...

_Liam_.

"Oh my gosh, look at all that hair!"

"How precious!"

"What an adorable baby!"

Listening to their compliments made Kurt feel ridiculously proud and he stepped forward, peering past the group to see what his son was doing. The little boy's eyes were open as he blinked tiredly at the bright room; he was tucked in a white and blue blanket, his little fists waving, and his hair was sticking up all over the place, long and pretty just like his eyelashes. The group of oogling mothers continued their coos and Kurt slipped into the group, smiling brightly as he tapped on the glass and murmured, "Hey sweetie!"

"Is that your baby?" One of the women asked, looking up at Kurt with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, he's mine," Kurt stated as he puffed his chest out a little bit. The group around him began chattering excitedly and then a familiar voice pierced through the others.

"Kurt Anderson-Hummel?! Kurt, is that you?"

Kurt turned around and found himself face-to-face with none other than Bailey, one of the girls from their birthing classes. She was very heavily pregnant now, but still perky nonetheless, as bouncy bubbly as she had been when they met her a few months ago. Behind her stood her boyfriend Jack and when he caught Kurt's eye, he held out a hand that Kurt happily shook. "It's so nice to see you two again!"

"Oh likewise! And look at you, a proud daddy! How exciting!" Bailey grinned, turning her attention back to the (very popular) Anderson-Hummel baby. "The other girls have been cooing over your little guy for the last hour, Kurt. I didn't even realize he was yours - probably should've looked at the name plate on his crib, but whatever! He's here and he's healthy and that's all you can ask for, right?"

"Exactly."

"How's Blaine?" Jack asked, finally speaking up. Kurt turned towards the younger man and smiled.

"He's resting. He had a rough time yesterday; he ended up having to have a c-section and Liam's cord was wrapped around his neck, so his heart rate fluctuated. It was scary, but it happens, you know? They're both fine now and that's all I could ask for."

Bailey nodded, stroking her round stomach. "I'm glad they're both okay. Hopefully we don't run into anything like that when our Ginnifer is born." She turned to glance at Liam again before she spoke once more, "I'm so glad we ran into you. I really liked Blaine - and you too, of course - and I'm glad you two are doing well. It was great to see you. We should totally keep in touch. I bet our babies would have some fun playdates with each other."

"That would be great," Kurt agreed and the couple gave him their information. Shortly after, the group (who Kurt ended up finding out were touring moms from other parenting classes) left, leaving Kurt and his family standing there in the hall.

"Okay now that the crowd's died down, can I see my grandson?" Burt teased, poking Kurt in the arm, and Kurt rolled his eyes, bidding the group a quick goodbye while he went to fetch his son. He was only gone for a few minutes but when he came back pushing a crib in front of him, the group swarmed to greet the baby.

"Hey, hey. Give us some room," Kurt said jokingly, reaching down to pick up the infant. He turned to his dad first and walked towards him, smiling all the way. "Liam, this is your grandpa. Say hello!"

"Oh kiddo," Burt sniffled, carefully taking his grandson from Kurt's arms. He stared down at his first grandchild with such awe in his eyes and his throat felt tight from all the emotion that threatened to burst from him. The baby's eyes flickered open to gaze up at him and even though Burt knew the little guy couldn't see him just yet, he felt as if Liam really knew who was holding him. "Hi Liam, I'm your grandpa."

While Burt bonded the baby, the group made their way down the hall towards Blaine's room. Carole stayed glued to Burt's side, babbling at little Liam, and Cooper walked next to Kurt while his brother-in-law pulled the crib down the hall.

"Is Blaine awake?"

"Yeah, he should be getting ready to eat soon. I bet he's famished. He hasn't eaten in a day. We were going to try breakfast, but he was too tired and achy to try, so hopefully he'll get some food in him now."

Kurt opened the door to the room and led everyone inside, letting out the breath he hadn't known he was holding when he spotted his husband. Blaine was sitting up in his bed, quietly picking at the tray of food that had been set before him and upon hearing everyone's arrival, he glanced up and smiled, exhaustion still noticeable plain as day on his face, but he still beamed at everybody cheerfully. "Hi guys!"

"How ya feeling, squirt?"

"Tired, but I'm happy." Blaine patted the bed so that some of the others could sit and Cooper plopped down next to him. "How's Liam?"

"He's hamming it up for grandpa," Burt answered, walking over to the bed to show Blaine what his son was doing. The little boy was making cute little faces and squirming, showing off just how cute he was (although not deliberately); it was just too adorable and it had the whole room _oohing_ and _awwing_. "He looks a lot like you Blaine, other than his nose."

"I feel for him a little. Poor child's gonna hate me for his hair."

Kurt rolled his eyes and gently prodded Blaine's shoulder, "You shush. His hair is perfect just like yours." He kissed the tip of Blaine's nose and stood up to lean over his father's shoulder to admire his son. "Is it strange if I'm still dumbfounded by all of this?"

"What?" Burt asked, looking over at him. "The fact that Liam's here already?"

"Yeah. It's just so strange. The last few times we were all together, we were waiting for him to arrive and now he's here and it's weird."

"Tell me about it," Blaine chimed in. "I just spent the last nine months carrying him and now Burt's holding him and it's crazy."

Carole looked at the two boys and laughed, shaking her head as she watched the two of them. "It'll just get crazier, boys. Just you wait and see. _Just you wait and see._"

::::::::::

Three days after Liam's birth, Blaine and the baby were cleared to go home from the hospital. Burt and Carole had been staying at the apartment with Cooper while Kurt, Blaine, and the baby were away, so the place was completely spotless when the family arrived home. Blaine was grateful that his in-laws and brother had taken the time out to make sure everything stayed as clean as it was when Blaine left (which was pretty freaking clean since he had went into severe nesting mode hours before he went into labor) and when they stepped in the door and breathed in the lemony fresh air, Blaine couldn't help but smile. "It's good to be home."

Sighing out those words, he slowly made his way into the living room with Kurt close behind, his husband's hand steady against the small of his back. Despite having felt better at the hospital, the cab ride home, as well as the trek down the hall to their apartment was a killer on Blaine's stomach. Just moving too much felt like he was about to pop a staple or a stitch and he couldn't wait until he was fully healed, even though that wouldn't be for another month.

"You okay, honey?" Kurt asked when Blaine hissed as he sat down on the sectional.

"I'm fine... just achy," Blaine answered, waiting until Cooper sat the car seat down on the couch before he carefully reached into it to pull Liam out. Their son had slept the whole way home, thankfully, and he was still dead asleep when they stepped into the house. Smiling at his son's precious face, Blaine held the baby against his chest, propped his feet up on the coffee table, and sunk back into the soft couch cushions, a happy sigh slipping from his lips as he settled down. It wasn't long after he sat down that he started to doze off and Kurt didn't waste a second getting out his phone to snap a few shots of Blaine and Liam sleeping on the couch together. Blaine's hands were protectively cradling his son close to him, one anchored on Liam's diapered bottom and the other resting on his back, and the sight was absolutely adorable.

"Is it possible to be more in love with him?" Kurt asked to no one in particular as he scrolled through the dozens of pictures on his phone. Next to him, Cooper snickered and Burt and Carole just smiled, all of them watching a flurry of looks pass across Kurt's face.

"When you say _him_ do mean Blaine or _Chip_?"

"Well I love them both, but I meant Blaine really. I just- I've loved Blaine since the day I met him and it's like... the longer we're together, the more I love him, but seeing him with Liam right now makes me feel like I'm falling even harder than I ever have before."

"It's a different thing seeing the love of your life with your child. You get to see a different side of them when you become parents and sometimes those different sides of them make you realize how much more you appreciate and adore them." Carole finished speaking and then whipped out her own camera to snap a pic of Blaine and the baby. "Even when your kids get older and they're off having their own lives, you'll still have those new feelings. It's strange, but that's life."

"I agree with everything she said," Burt added and the group laughed. Finn and Rachel, who met up with everyone when Blaine was discharged, nodded in agreement from their position in the doorway and Kurt looked around the room at everyone's faces, smiling when he saw how happy everybody seemed.

"I'm glad you're all here with us... you know, sharing this with us and everything. And that you all were there for us - and Blaine especially - when things got rough. I don't know how I could ever repay you or thank you enough."

"The fact that _Chip's_ here safe and sound is all I need," Cooper stated, leaning down to brush his long fingers over the baby's thick hair. The others basically said the same thing, pausing for a moment to stare at the sleeping father and son duo on the couch, before they went buzzing around the apartment.

"We brought over food if you guys were hungry," Rachel said as she went on her way into the kitchen. Finn mentioned the various types of food they brought over and Burt, Carole, and Cooper decided to go get something to eat, thus leaving Kurt and Blaine alone in the room together with the baby, even though Kurt was the only one awake.

Lips quirking, Kurt took a seat next to his slumbering husband and leaned in close, resting his cheek against Blaine's shoulder as he gazed at Liam's sleeping face. The baby was moving along with the rise and fall of his daddy's chest and his tiny bow-shaped lips were pushed out in the cutest little pout; his wild hair stuck up in all directions and his long lashes fanned out over his chubby pink cheeks. He was the most perfect thing in the world and Kurt was in awe by him. Pulling his gaze away from Liam, Kurt then focused on his sleeping husband, a bigger smile gracing his features as he watched Blaine nap. Blaine was still very exhausted, that much was noticeable based on the shadows under his eyes, but he still looked very content with everything at the moment. His mouth was slightly open as he breathed, but the side of it was curled in a slight smile. Just watching him sleep, staring at his gorgeous face, and observing the loving way he held their son made Kurt's heart skip a few beats. Gently, he reached out and laid his hand partially over Blaine's, right over the spot where Blaine's hand rested on Liam's back. From there, he could feel Liam breathing in sync with Blaine and it almost took his own breath away with how much in love he was with the two people next to him.

_This is what it's all about. This is what Blaine dreamed of; I can see it now_.

"Love you both," he whispered to his napping loves, and when Jennycat hopped up on the couch and settled down in Kurt's lap (but not before giving a questioning sniff to the tiny human curled up on Blaine's chest), it felt like everything was complete and perfect, just the way it should be. Just like a _family_.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter kicked my ass. It took a week to even get through it and it's not as good as I'd like, but hopefully it's decent. There's only one more chapter after this one and I hope I can get it out shortly. Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you guys like the baby's name - I took all of your suggestions to heart (I got a bunch on here and tumblr) and even though I adored many of them, it came down to Liam Elijah (special shout out to all the people who also have written Kurt as having the middle name Elijah as his original one that he changed in honor of his mom; I'm definitely not the first person who thought of that so major credit goes to some others who have written fics about that - I wish I could remember their names but I remember seeing it early on in the fandom so all the credit goes to them.) I hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought!**


	30. Chapter 30

When We're Older

**Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! Also, the Reddin gene I mention in this story is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie _Junior_. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything, especially not FaceTime or Skype or anything else for that matter. I OWN NOTHING.**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this. I needed some time away from the fandom after Cory Monteith's death (which I still can't believe he's gone, you know?) Finn is still in this story even though Cory's gone, but I hope you all don't mind. Here's the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

The shrill sound of crying filled Kurt's ears and he sighed, rolling over from his spot on the bed as he rubbed at his sleep-fuzzy eyes. He kicked his legs over the side and stood, swaying a bit due to his lack of complete consciousness before he steadied himself and turned back around to make sure Blaine was still sleeping.

He wasn't. In fact, Blaine wasn't in bed at all.

_Crap_, Kurt thought to himself as he looked around the darkened bedroom and found the place completely empty. _Blaine must have taken the baby to the nursery so I wouldn't get up_. Just hours ago, the family settled down to sleep with Kurt and Blaine in their bed while Liam slept in the bassinet that was set up just a few feet away from them. The plan was to alternate between Blaine getting up to tend to the baby and then it would be Kurt's turn, but somehow the plan must've changed because now Blaine and the baby were down the hall while Kurt was left alone to rest.

But how could he rest when he knew that Blaine was having trouble getting their son back to sleep?

Actually, poor Liam hadn't been feeling very well at all lately. The baby, who was now a little over a month old, was having trouble keeping his formula down and even though Blaine was able to get them an appointment with Liam's pediatrician that upcoming Friday, they still dealt with having to listen to their son whimper and cry over something they couldn't understand. Phone calls to Burt and Carole told them that it might be an allergy to something in the formula, so Kurt went out and bought different things to try until they could get in to see the pediatrician, but nothing seemed to work and Liam was just _miserable_.

To punctuate that fact, a particularly loud wail traveled down the hall and Kurt's heart fell at the sound.

With a sad sigh, he padded down the hall and towards the cries he knew were coming from the nursery. Quietly, he pushed the slightly ajar door open and peered inside, not surprised in the least to find his husband pacing back and forth in front of the baby's crib, his arms full as he hummed and tried to soothe the crying infant that he held against his chest. Blaine's hair was fluffy and sticking up and there were bags under his eyes, evidence of the last few weeks of navigating the ins and outs of parenthood, especially during this rough time. Liam's tiny head was tucked beneath Blaine's chin, face turned away from Kurt's sight, but he knew his son had to be screaming himself red in the face with how loud he was crying.

"Is his stomach still bothering him?" Kurt asked as he stepped fully into the room and Blaine cocked his head to the side, blinking his sleepy eyes rapidly as he regarded his husband.

"You should go back to bed. You have to work in the morning."

"My son's sick and my husband looks exhausted. I'm calling off tomorrow."

"But you-"

"Isabelle will understand, honey." Kurt walked up to Blaine and peered down at their son, brushing his fingers over Liam's dark wispy locks. "Poor baby. How long has he been up?"

"About an hour. He doesn't feel well at all. He spit up his formula and I tried rubbing his belly to help him sleep, but he's miserable. I... I don't know what to do and I hate it."

"We could take him to the hospital?"

"I just- I don't-" Blaine whispered, trailing off as Liam wailed again. "I hate that he's so uncomfortable. I feel like there's nothing I can do, but what if we take him to the hospital and they just tell us that he's having gas pains? Or what if we don't take him and it ends up being something really serious? I just- _I'm scared_."

Kurt stared down at his husband and kissed Blaine's temple before he stepped in front of the shorter man and gently took Liam from Blaine's grasp. Carefully, he cradled his son against him and rubbed his hand up and down the baby's warm back. "Oh honey," he breathed, kissing Liam's forehead. "We're gonna help you feel better, okay? Everything will be alright. Your daddies will make it better." Looking up at Blaine, Kurt took his hand away from the baby's back and reached out to grab his husband's fingers. He wasn't surprised to find Blaine's hand shaking, "Why don't you head back to bed and get some sleep? I'll stay up with him and if he doesn't calm down soon, I'll wake you and we can figure out something from there."

"But he's-"

"Carole said to monitor him for the night and I can do that. You haven't slept very well over the last few days and you'd feel better - hell, _I'd_ feel better - if you got some sleep. Please? Do it for me?"

Blaine watched him for a moment, hazel eyes blinking slowly before he nodded in understanding and kissed both his husband and son goodnight. He hesitated a bit in the doorway until Kurt shooed him away and once he was out of sight, Kurt slumped into the rocking chair and placed a steady hand on Liam's back, gently patting his son's bottom as the little boy whimpered against him.

"Daddy's got you, monkey. Shh."

For the next few hours, Kurt remained on watch, carefully rocking his son to sleep and keeping an eye on him as the baby slept through the night. When dawn came and Blaine came shuffling down the hall that morning, he was surprised to find Kurt and Liam fast asleep in the rocking chair and even though he knew Kurt was going to have one hell of a kink in his neck, he was glad his husband was able to calm their son down enough that the entire family was able to get some rest.

::::::::::

Liam's stomach issues ended up coming down to a lactose allergy, one that was remedied by switching him to soy formula.

The new formula seemed to work wonders, which was a god send to Kurt and Blaine since they had been mind boggled by their son's change in demeanor. Now though, the baby was happy and healthy and it was all they could ask for, especially with Kurt heading back to work full-time and Blaine cementing himself farther into his role as a stay-at-home dad.

While the days were long and tiresome, Blaine knew that there wasn't anything in the world that he loved more than being a daddy. He got to cuddle up with Liam and just love up on him every single day until Kurt came home and then he would pass the baby off to get some rest while Kurt bonded with their son. However, resting usually never came into play since Blaine was always too infatuated with watching his husband talk or sing to their little boy. Kurt really slipped into his role as a father quite well, like a duck to water actually, and it was such a huge spin from those awful months where he broke away from Blaine and the pregnancy due to his fears over becoming a dad.

"He really loves you, you know?" Blaine murmured one night over dinner as he picked at a cobb salad and watched as Kurt sat across from him, feeding Liam his nightly bottle.

"Hmm?"

"Liam. He adores you. He makes the funniest little sad, pouty face when you kiss him in the mornings before you go to work. It's like he knows he won't see you for a few hours and I think he hates it - it's adorable though. I'm gonna catch it on camera for you one of these days."

Kurt chuckled and moved his arm a bit to prop Liam up some, "He's got your pout, I think. There's no one that can give puppy-dog eyes better than you."

"Oh shush."

"What? It's true! You two have the same facial expressions. I can't wait until he's big enough to talk because I'm gonna have you two challenge each other to see who can make the silliest expression. It'll be great."

Blaine rolled his eyes and smiled when Kurt squealed over Liam having finished up his bottle. "He was hungry."

"_Oh yes, he was_," Kurt cooed, setting the empty bottle on the table before he situated the baby on his shoulder with a burp cloth. A few pats on the back caused the little one to burp quite loudly and both Anderson-Hummel men laughed. "That's a good baby." Happy that their son was fed and burped, Kurt sat back in his seat and continued to rub at Liam's back, silently watching Blaine as he popped tiny pieces of lettuce into his mouth. "Here's to hoping that he gets your impeccable table manners too."

Blaine snickered, "As long as he doesn't watch his uncle Finn eat and decide that's the way to clean his plate, we should be okay." They both rolled their eyes and Blaine went back to eating, ignoring the watchful eyes on him. Several minutes of Blaine-watching went by before Kurt finally snapped back to reality and stood up from the table, gently laying Liam in his pack and play crib.

"You got a strange letter in the mail today, by the way. I don't know why I didn't think of it until now."

"A strange _letter_?"

"Yeah." Kurt stepped out of the room for a moment and came back with a large envelope. "I think it's a card. There's no return address so I don't know who sent it, but I think it's something to congratulate us about Liam. It's addressed to you though, so you should open it. Sorry I didn't give it to you sooner. I completely forgot about it when I got home."

"That's fine," Blaine said softly, taking the aforementioned envelope from Kurt's hands. A soft gasp slid from his lips when he noticed the scrawl of his name on the front and Kurt raised a brow at the reaction.

"Honey?"

"That- that's my mom's writing. I'd know it anywhere."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah." Blaine held the card in his hands, fingers slightly shaking as he thought about what the letter could hold. It felt heavy in his palm, slightly thick like something was enclosed and he exhaled shakily, flipping the card over to slide his finger against the seal. It came open easily and with trembling hands, Blaine slid the letter from the envelope, shocked to find a light blue card tucked inside. The front was white with 'Congratulations' written on the front in glittery, baby blue cursive. A picture of a baby in a basket being carried by a stork was centered below the writing and Blaine's heart leapt into his throat as he looked down at the card. "I don't understand."

"Is it a card?"

"Yes."

Kurt stood up and leaned against Blaine's chair, hunching over as he too looked at the card. When he was done reading it, he placed his hand on Blaine's shoulder and squeezed, offering his husband his support as the younger man continued to stare blankly at the card. "Open it."

Carefully, Blaine cracked open the card and he gasped again, this time louder when a piece of paper fell out and landed in his lap. "She sent a check."

Kurt reached down and picked up the check, eyes widening when he noticed the amount written on it. "She sent a check for _five thousand dollars_, Blaine."

"Oh my god-"

"I think there's a letter in there too," Kurt pointed out, eyes darting back up to gauge Blaine's expression when the younger man took in a shuddery breath. "Honey?"

"I don't understand. I- I don't get it."

"Read the letter, sweetie. I'll give you a minute." Kurt pressed a kiss to Blaine's shoulder and then left the dining room, leaving Blaine alone with the letter (and a sleeping Liam, all nestled up in his pack and play.) Once he was gone, the few tears that had been threatening to fall from Blaine's eyes spilled out and he set the card, letter, and check on the table, dropping his head into his hands as he cried.

He couldn't understand this, didn't understand what was going on. How could his mom have gotten notice that he had a baby? Unless someone close to them told her then- oh, _oh_ it was Cooper. It had to be.

_Fucking Cooper_.

Blaine wiped away the rest of the tears and reached forward, angrily tugging the letter out of the card. He unfolded it and frowned when he saw his mom's perfect handwriting scribbled on the page. It was hard to forget her loopy, swirly lettering even though it was over five years since he last saw or even spoke to her. Also, even though he was terribly upset that she just let her husband belittle him during that Thanksgiving all those years ago, he couldn't help but think about how much he missed his parents, especially when he saw how amazing the Hudmel family was. Sniffling, Blaine pulled the letter closer to his face and stared down at the scrawl, heart racing when he saw the greeting written at the top.

_My dear baby boy,_

_It's been quite a long time, hasn't it? But that is all my fault. It's been over five years since I've heard your voice or seen your face and I've been foolish these last few years, Blaine. You are my youngest, my baby, and I haven't been fair to you, nor has your father. As I sit here and write this out to you, I can't help but think about all the things I've missed in your life over these lost years. You've grown up so much, sweetheart, and I hate that I let myself miss that._

_And now, now I know that I've missed another huge milestone in your life and I'm crushed that I did. Please don't be mad at him, but Cooper told me about the baby._

_My first grandchild: a little boy! A grandson!_

_Goodness when your brother texted me about his birth, I cried for days, Blaine. I really did. Because I missed the most important day of your life: your first time becoming a parent. Gosh, I admit that when you first told your father and me that you carried the Reddin gene, I was scared to death. I had no idea how it was even possible that a man could even get pregnant, let alone carry and child and give birth to it, but then you told us you had the gene and I thought about those nights when you were younger and you told us you were gay and how upset I was that I wasn't going to get any grandchildren from you._

_It was a selfish thought, I know that now, but it was something I thought of and I regret it much like I regret not being in your life over the last several years._

_And now you are a father, a daddy to a beautiful baby boy (I saw pictures, just ones of him in the nursery at the hospital and a few of him that Cooper took of him a few days after his birth) and I'm heartbroken that I missed this because of my own stupidity._

_Blaine, darling, I miss you. I've missed you since that night you left and I'm so sorry that I never stood up for you and that I let you leave that night. I should have fought harder, should have told your father to just shut his mouth and grow up because you've been nothing but the perfect son to us and instead of focusing in on the great things you've done, your father focused on his bigotry instead and I let him hurt you. I am so sorry. I know that it's too late to ask forgiveness or to even beg, but I just want you to know that I am sorry and that I love you very much. Your father and I, we've done some talking over the years about what happened that night, and he's sorry too, Blaine. He realizes what he did was wrong and that he never ever should have said those awful things to you about Kurt and about your genetics._

_We miss you very much, sweetheart, and we hate that we're missing out on your life and the life of our dear grandchild because of something dumb we did long ago._

_So, I've enclosed a check for $5,000 for you to get something nice for you and Kurt and the baby. Cooper wouldn't let me know his name because he said that he was already stepping too far out by sending us the pictures and that if we wanted to know the baby's name to ask you, but he did mention that we would like the name. I think I would love his name no matter what because he's beautiful, Blaine. So beautiful._

_He looks like you when you were a baby actually. I've enclosed some pictures of you when you were just a tiny little guy and you can compare them if you'd like. It looks like the Anderson genes were quite dominant with your little one, though I can see a bit of Kurt in there too - especially his nose! That's a definite Hummel nose right there! So cute!_

_Just writing about how cute my grandson is without even seeing him in person breaks my heart, but I know that is nothing but my fault and my fault alone. I've been terrible to you, Blaine, and I hope that you can one day accept my apology and allow me back into your life. I miss you so much and I'll do anything to show you how sorry I am._

_Please give a kiss to Kurt from us and please kiss your beautiful little boy too. I hope to one day meet him, even if it is for just one second._

_I love you very much, Blaine Devon. Your father and I are sorry and we hope to hear from you. Love you!_

_Mom_

Blaine dropped the letter on the table and leaned forward, resting his forehead against his fists as he breathed in heavily. It felt like someone was sitting on his chest and suffocating him and his stomach swirled sourly as he thought about the pain that he went through after cutting his parents out of his life. He thought about the first few weeks during his pregnancy when he was alone at Cooper's apartment and how much he wanted to call him mom and cry over his fears because a long, long time ago, she had been quite a good listener - well, until he came out... then that was a different story.

He thought about her when he was sitting in the hospital with Liam resting against his chest, his cheek resting against the baby's thick hair, and how there was a picture in his old baby book back at home similar to that very scene, one of his mom holding him in the hospital just like that, her cheek pressed against Blaine's curls as she lovingly cradled him. At that moment in time, he wanted to call her and ask her tons of questions about caring for a newborn, but he shied away, still broken from the way she let his dad run over his feelings so many Thanksgivings ago. So, he turned to Carole, who had been more a mother to him than his own and he let the pangs that filled his soul fade away while he forgot about his own mommy issues.

But now, sitting there in his dining room, head in his hands, forgotten dinner in front of him as well as a letter, packet of pictures, and a check spread before him, he felt lost.

"Kurt?" He called out, voice thick and laden with sadness. Kurt skidded into the room and sighed sadly at the sight of Blaine's forlorn expression.

"Oh honey," He whispered as he tugged his husband against him and let Blaine cry it out, one hand stroking Blaine's scalp while the other wrapped around his shoulders. "It's okay. I'm here; it'll be okay." Beside them, Liam began to fuss, having woken up due to the commotion around him, and Kurt sucked in a deep breath, heart falling at the sounds of Blaine falling apart beside of him and the whimpers that came from the bassinet. "Shh, shh. I've got you."

A couple of minutes later, Blaine sniffled and pulled away, slipping out of Kurt's grasp to go over and pick up Liam. He held the little boy close to his chest and nuzzled Liam's soft, dark hair, his voice dropping to a quiet whisper as he mumbled into Liam's hair.

"Blaine?"

"I'm not going to become like them, Kurt. I'm not."

"You mean like your parents?"

"If I ever hurt Liam the way they did to me, I wouldn't deserve forgiveness."

"Is that what they want?" Kurt asked cautiously, slowly stepping forward towards his husband and son. He reached out and pulled Blaine in so that they were standing face to face, Kurt's hands low on Blaine's waist as he watched his family. "They want you to forgive them?"

"Cooper told them about Liam and they want to be a part of his life. They want to get to know him even though they- my dad, he- even though he said it was an abomination to produce via the gene."

"Maybe their thoughts changed?"

"Kurt, I don't-"

Kurt smiled sadly, shaking his head to quiet his husband. He waited until Blaine hushed before he continued, "I know your parents hurt you. I do. But, what you just said: how they asked for forgiveness after what happened? That's them extending the olive branch. I know that they hurt you badly. I hated them for what they did, but I... do you mind if I read the letter? Maybe I can better explain things to you if I can?"

Blaine shrugged his shoulders and Kurt nodded at him, stepping away to pick up the discarded letter. He skimmed through it, only taking a minute or two to read the whole thing and once he was done, he looked up at his red-eyed husband, a gentle smile taking over his face.

"Remember when you forgave me for what I did?"

"Yes."

"Remember how scared I was about being a dad? How selfish I was back then?"

"Yes."

"Remember how I realized how dense I was being and how you and I worked it out?"

"Yes, but Kurt-"

"I'm not saying that you should forgive your parents for the way they acted, but maybe they _did_ have a change of heart? Maybe they finally realized how stupid they've been and have finally realized that they really messed everything up? Maybe they're finally coming around?"

"Kurt..."

"You know, a long time ago, you told me that you were scared that you would become like your dad. Maybe now's the time for you to talk to him - and your mom - and find out what in the world caused them to change their attitude towards you? You can just have one conversation with them and see how they are and if you aren't comfortable, you can definitely cut them off completely. I would support you a million percent, but honestly, I think it would be good for you to just _talk_ to them. Forgiveness is a hard thing to allow when you've been hurt, but... but both you and I have dealt with it and we came out okay, yes?"

Blaine nodded, turning away for just a moment to put a now sleeping Liam back in his bassinet. Once the baby was laid down, Blaine turned back and walked straight into Kurt's arms, resting his head against Kurt's shoulder as a long shaky breath slipped from his lips. "You really think I should call them?"

"It wouldn't hurt, honey."

"You think so?"

"Call them and just talk to them. If they make you uncomfortable at any time or it seems like you aren't ready or they just aren't as sorry as you think they are, then hang up and don't worry about them ever again."

"Will you talk to them with me?"

"I'll do whatever you want me to do, Blaine. Whatever you want."

::::::::::

It took Blaine a whole week to come to terms with what he was about to do.

Kurt stood beside him though, ready and willing to jump in if Blaine needed him. They spent the full week discussing their options, as well as talking to their therapist about it, and when they finally came to a cemented plan, Kurt told Isabelle that he needed to take a half day due to some family related issue and then he came home early, plopping down beside of Blaine as his husband sat stone stiff at the kitchen table, his phone clutched in his fist.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Blaine started the phone call, switching the call over to speakerphone and he sat back, reaching one arm out to take Kurt's. The phone rang for a few moments before a familiar voice answered, her soothing tone filling the air in the apartment as she spoke.

"Hello?"

Blaine opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out and Kurt frowned, squeezing his husband's hand as Blaine shook his head. Mrs. Anderson kept asking if someone was there and finally Kurt answered, leaning close to the phone to speak up.

"Mrs. Anderson? Marisol, it's Kurt. Kurt Hummel."

"Kurt? Oh my god, Kurt, hello! Is Blaine with you?"

Blaine took in a shaky breath and then exhaled, making himself known. "Mom?"

"Blaine! Oh my god, Blaine!"

"Hi mom."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!" The woman on the other end of the phone began bawling and Kurt bit his lip when he felt Blaine slump next to him, the other man hiding the fact that he too had started crying upon hearing his mother's voice after five long years.

"Mom-"

Mrs. Anderson started babbling on her end, sobbing out apologies and promises to never hurt him ever again. Blaine barely spoke and just spent the conversation nodding his head even though his mother couldn't see him and after several minutes of crying from the two of them, a soft cry caused the two to silence.

"Oh-"

"Baby, I'm gonna go get Liam. I'll be back," Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine's hand before he disappeared out of the room. Blaine turned back to his phone and frowned when he was met with nothing but silence.

"Mom?"

"Liam? You named him Liam?"

"Liam Elijah. We named him after Grampy. I mean, he just-"

"You named him after dad?" _Oh_, that was a new voice. _Mr. Anderson_.

"Dad?"

"Blaine."

Kurt stepped back into the room with Liam in tow, quietly swaying back and forth as the baby's soft whimpers quieted down to nothing. When he spotted Blaine's wide eyes and slack jaw, he frowned, but when the sound of Blaine's father's voice slipped from the phone speakers, he figured out what had his husband so shocked.

"Mr. Anderson?"

"Hello Kurt."

Liam whined again and Marisol sighed audibly, snapping Blaine from his reverie. The younger Anderson glanced up at his husband and son and then back at his phone, fingers twitching as he stared at the amount of time the call was. "Do you guys want to meet Liam?"

"What?"

"Do you want to meet the baby? On FaceTime?"

"Oh honey. Of course."

Blaine went ahead and got FaceTime set up on their iPad, dialing his parents while Kurt sat down with Liam and got him ready to meet his other grandparents for the first time. Within seconds, the faces of Marisol and Nicholas Anderson popped up on-screen and Kurt observed how much _older_ the couple looked. Nicholas' dark brown hair was salt-and-pepper grey now and he wore a pair of dark-rimmed glasses that shielded his blue eyes. Marisol's wavy hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and there were dark circles under her tired hazel eyes. When the two older adults spotted Blaine on-screen, they both smiled sadly.

"You've grown," Marisol commented and Blaine blushed.

"It's been five years, mom."

"I know. I've missed so much."

"Yeah. Kurt and I are parents now." Kurt leaned in at the mention of his name and waved at his in-laws with his free hand. Both Andersons waved back and Blaine focused the camera back on him, "You ready to meet Liam?"

"Definitely," Nicholas said. Blaine turned the screen towards Kurt and Kurt sat up a little straighter, situating the baby in his arms so that he was in the plain view of the phone's camera lens. When he was able to be fully seen, a chorus of coos and awws came from the grandparents and then there were sniffles, so many more sniffles. Kurt looked up and found himself looking at two completely emotional, distraught people and he shot a look to Blaine, not surprised to find his husband's lower lip tucked between his teeth.

_You okay,_ he mouthed to Blaine, watching as his husband nodded slowly. Blaine turned the camera back on him and scooted closer to Kurt and Liam, leaning in close as the young family stared back at Blaine's parents. Nicholas was watching them in awe and Marisol was dabbing tears away from her eyes with a tissue. When Liam yawned, the grandparents watched on in amazement and Marisol reached over to take Nicholas' hand.

"He's beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thank you," Blaine mumbled, looking down at his sleepy son. Kurt held the baby up a little higher and passed him over to his husband, lovingly watching the way Blaine took Liam into his arms with such care. "He's my world, next to Kurt... obviously."

"You guys did a good job."

"Thank you."

After that, the conversation dwindled, especially since the Andersons were so enthralled by their grandson. The next several minutes were spent in almost silence (minus the soft snuffly noises Liam made as he drank from his afternoon bottle) and when Blaine finally went to set Liam's empty bottle to the side and burp him, Marisol spoke up.

"I know we've been distant and that we really hurt you, sweetheart, but we were wondering if we could come visit or perhaps you guys could stop by the next time you are in Ohio?"

Kurt chewed on his lip, darting his gaze to Blaine to see what his husband was thinking, but Blaine's facial expression was blank. The younger man seemed to be lost in his thoughts, his eyes blinking slowly as he let his mind wander. His parents sat patiently on the other line, not saying a word, but Kurt could see their worry when Blaine didn't answer.

"Blaine?"

"We're coming in for Thanksgiving."

"That sounds wonderful, darling. Absolutely wonderful."

::::::::::

"I can't believe we're finally here," Kurt sighed as he opened his car door and stretched his aching limbs. Blaine hopped out of the passenger seat and immediately went to climb in the back to unhook Liam from his car seat. Their four-month-old son was fast asleep, having been lured into dreamland by the ride to his grandparents, and when Blaine lifted the infant out of his seat, Liam yawned and sunk into his daddy's chest, content to listen to Blaine's heartbeat as the man carried him towards the house.

"That was the longest ride I've ever been on... and I used to take bus rides for school functions."

"So did I. Remember the Chicago trip to Nationals my senior year? That was pretty disgusting."

Blaine chuckled and stopped in front of the door, carefully holding Liam with one hand while he knocked with the other. The door swung open before he could finish knocking and on the other side appeared Carole, who squealed at the sight of her loved ones.

"Hello boys! Oh, let me have my grandson!"

Blaine surrendered the baby, then turned back to grab up some of the luggage that Kurt had placed on the steps. When he and Kurt had finally emptied out the rental car, they both fled into the warmth of the house and found Burt and Carole cooing over a now awake Liam, who was blinking up at them with a scowl on his face.

"He's probably mad that he's awake, but it's better if he's up now anyway. I need him to sleep tonight."

Carole nodded at Blaine's comment and scooted over on the couch, allowing Burt to sink in closer to her as the older man babbled at his grandson. "That's my boy! There's my little Liam! There's grandpa's boy!"

"I think dad's forgotten how to speak English," Kurt teased, smirking at his dad when Blaine elbowed him in the side. "That's okay. I forget how to speak properly around Liam too."

"Kurt randomly coos things at him, so I would just ignore this dork! He babytalks him more than I do, so he's got no room to pick at you, Burt."

"I can imagine. He used to babytalk his designer shoes too. I really miss those days."

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to Blaine, nudging his husband to get him to follow him upstairs to discard their luggage. Once they got to Kurt's old room and dropped their bags, Kurt ambushed his husband with a kiss, smiling against Blaine's lips when his husband gasped against him. "Sorry about that," he breathed when he finally pulled away. "This room just brought back a ton of memories."

"I'd say," Blaine added with a chuckle. He leaned forward and kissed Kurt again, moaning against Kurt's lips as the other man ran his tongue along the seam of his mouth. The two of them continued their canoodling, allowing Burt and Carole to get some quality time in with their grandson before they finally decided to break apart and head downstairs. When they stepped into the living room neither grandparent commented on their swollen, kiss reddened lips or disheveled appearances, but it was noticeable by the all-knowing smirks on their faces that they knew what Kurt and Blaine were up to.

"So," Burt started, "Carole and I were thinking that you guys might let us have Liam for the night. We can set up his crib in our room and you two can have a night of uninterrupted sleep while we watch our grandbaby. Whaddya say?"

The couple shared a look before they turned back to Burt. "That would be awesome, dad. We haven't had too many nights alone since he was born," Kurt agreed. Meanwhile, Blaine nodded in agreement with his husband and took a seat on the couch next to Carole, leaning close to his mother-in-law to talk to his son.

"He really loves his gramma!"

"Of course he does! And his gramma loves him too!" Beaming at her grandbaby, Carole kissed the top of Liam's curly head, giggling when the little one in her arms grunted and began to squirm in her grasp. "He seems a little hungry. Do you mind if I feed him?"

"No, of course not! I'll go make him a bottle."

"I'll come with you," Carole said as she stood up and followed Blaine into the kitchen, leaving both of the Hummel men alone. When Burt noticed this, he waved his arm towards the couch and motioned for Kurt to sit. In the meantime, he took his seat in the recliner, smiling at his boy when Kurt finally got settled down. "I'm glad you came for the holiday, bud."

"I'm glad I was able to take off for it. Isabelle told me to go home since Liam's still small and you guys deserve to see him more often-"

"I always knew I liked that woman."

"-and with Blaine going to his parents on Friday-" He trailed off.

"How's Blaine dealing with that? He ready for all that? It's a huge step."

Kurt nodded and sunk down into the couch, "I think he just wants to get it over with and see what happens from there. I know he's worried about it since he hasn't seen them in years, but I think he wants to try to make amends with them for Liam's sake, you know? We're just going to go over there and hang out with them and Cooper for a while and then come back here so things don't get too weird."

"I understand. How is Cooper, by the way? I haven't seen him since he flew back to Cali after Liam's birth."

"Well, he's doing okay - still filming that movie of his actually. They're on break for Thanksgiving, so he's coming in for a few days before he has to head back out to film some more. And I know Blaine's excited to see him. They skype and talk on the phone all the time. I think Blaine misses him."

"He probably does. They relied on each other a lot over the last year."

"Yeah, they did."

The rest of the conversation about Cooper was cut short when Carole came back into the room, arms full of baby with Blaine right on her tail. She smiled at Kurt and then turned to hand the baby over to Burt, "I need to have a word with Blaine. Could you finish feeding Liam?"

"As if I'd pass up the opportunity to feed my little stinkbug," Burt growled out, his voice teasing. He beamed at the little one in his arms and cooed about how good of an eater Liam was as the baby sucked heartily on his bottle. "What are you two up to anyway?"

"You can never start Christmas shopping too early!" Carole called behind her as she half-dragged Blaine up the steps. As they disappeared upstairs, the Hummel men could hear Blaine's laughter trailing behind them. It was obvious Carole was up to something, but that was her secret, so they didn't question it. _Let her have her fun! _Once the others were completely out of their sight though, Kurt turned his attention back to his dad, his heart warming at the sight of the older man once again babbling at his grandchild.

"He's not too heavy for you, is he, dad?"

"Heavy? Please, Kurt! He's barely the size of my arm - he's as light as a feather!"

"Tell that to my biceps!"

"He's just a healthy eater, that's all. Aren't you, kiddo? You like your yum-yums!"

Kurt rolled his eyes fondly, sitting back further to observe his dad and son more. While Burt fed the baby, Kurt talked about Liam's growth and how adorably chubby he was. The little guy was healthy, which was great, as he wasn't struggling anymore like he was before they switched him over to lactose free formula; plus, he was growing at the normal rate for a four-month-old. Liam was also very fond of Blaine singing to him and of Kurt reading to him, especially when Kurt changed his voice for different characters. Basically, he just loved the sound of his parents' voices. Also, he liked various rattles and squeaky things and he adored his _tummy time_ - when one of his daddies would set him on a soft blanket on his belly and let him practice moving around a bit. He didn't do much, but he was getting better at lifting his head and flailing his limbs around, which made Blaine think he was going to be rolling soon.

"Ahh, rolling. I remember you rolling, bud. I set you on the bed for a nap and you somehow rolled clear off and almost gave me a heart attack! And your mom- _your mom_ almost skinned me alive because I turned away for _one_ second and _boom_ there you were on the floor! Thank god, you weren't hurt. Though I sometimes now wonder if maybe you bonked your head on the floor when you fell-"

"Dad!"

"Just kidding," Burt chuckled, a big grin spreading across his face as he shook the now empty bottle in his hand. "Someone was hungry!" He hunched forward, setting the bottle on the coffee table before balanced Liam on his lap and began to pat the little guy's back, smiling up at Kurt when Liam let out a monster burp. "There we go! That's my boy!"

"Honestly, I think he got his belching skills from Uncle Finn. That's not something Blaine or I passed off."

"Could have gotten it from his grandpa too! Right, kiddo?"

Liam cooed at his grandfather and reached his chubby hands out, grabbing onto the cuffs of Burt's plaid shirt. He gave his grandpa a gummy smile when Burt laughed at him and Kurt's heart just melted at the sight. Watching the two of them bond, Kurt couldn't help but admire how adorable they were and how excited he was to see his dad so happy. A year ago, he never would have imagined a situation like this: seeing his dad holding his first grandchild. He never would imagined the child having been spawned from him and Blaine either... but now, he couldn't imagine it any other way.

Sighing happily, he stood up from the couch and went to sit on the floor in front of the recliner, carefully balancing on his knees as he leaned in and pecked a kiss on Liam's chubby cheek. "Love you, sweetie."

Burt smiled at the action, taking one of his hands from Liam's back to pat his son's shoulder. "You know, I'm so proud of you, Kurt. You've grown so much in the last year and I just want to let you know how proud I am of you... I love you lots, bud."

"Thanks, dad. I love you too."

The two of them went back to playing with Liam and after several minutes of being distracted by the baby's overall cuteness, neither man noticed Blaine and Carole watching them from the doorway, both smiling at the precious sight before them.

"Should I get my camera?" Carole asked, inwardly swooning when Kurt began singing to the baby as Burt rocked the little guy against his chest. Beside her, Blaine shook his head and dug something out of his pants pocket: his phone.

"Already on it."

::::::::::

Kurt rolled over, slinging his arm over Blaine's waist as he pulled his sleeping husband a little bit closer. They had been in bed for a few hours now and after a passionate, yet slow love-making session, Blaine had immediately fallen asleep, but Kurt was wide awake still, his mind racing as he stared at the moonlit ceiling above him.

It felt so strange to not have Liam in the room, whether or not he was in a crib beside their bed or sleeping in between them. The little boy had been with them since he came home from the hospital, so it was weird to know he was sleeping somewhere else, but Kurt knew he was in safe hands, especially with how excited his parents seemed to have an semi-sleepover with their only grandchild.

Plus, it wasn't like Kurt and Blaine didn't take advantage of the alone time they were so lovingly given. Being able to have sex without having to worry about waking a sleeping baby was amazing even though they still had to keep quiet to not bother the other occupants of the house. However, both men stayed within their noise boundaries and just relished in each other's love, enjoying their time together without any interruptions.

Blushing at the memory of Blaine falling apart beneath him, Kurt squeezed his husband a little tighter and snuggled his face against Blaine's, gently rubbing his cheek along his husband's slightly scruffy one. At the contact, Blaine hummed in content and opened his eyes, turning slightly in Kurt's arms to sleepily stare up at his husband's face. He blinked against the darkness and yawned, eyes narrowing as he stared into the darkness.

"Kurt? You're still awake? ...What time is it?"

"It's, like... a quarter to four. It's late. Go back to sleep, honey. I'm not tired."

"_No_. Nuh uh. Not until you try to sleep too. We've got a busy day tomorrow," Blaine commented with another yawn, reminding Kurt of their shopping trip to get groceries for Thanksgiving dinner later that week. Kurt rolled his eyes and kissed the middle of Blaine's forehead, breathing in clean scent of his husband's skin.

"We don't have to shop early. We can take a lazy day and shop later. No rush."

"Says the man who likes to rush me around in the morning because he wants to beat the crowds."

"Sometimes certain actions must be taken to make sure we get what we need. I doubt we'll have any problem finding what we need to in _Lima, Ohio_."

Blaine scoffed, "You say that now, but watch: we'll go shopping and they'll not have yams and whose fault will that be? _Yours_. Because you want to take a lazy day tomorrow."

"Oh please-"

"Plus we promised your parents that we'd go out on a date night thing while they watch the baby. You wouldn't want to make them angry, now would you?"

"Oh yes... because if we don't leave, they'll be upset," Kurt teased, kissing Blaine's temple right where his husband's hair curled so adorably. "Part of me thinks you'll be the one who'll get angry if we don't take advantage of that deal tomorrow."

"And what if I do?"

"You won't... because we're going out to dinner at Breadstix-" He ignored Blaine's snort, "-and you're going to love it. It'll be just like the old days."

"Yeah, the days before we had a baby and before I was as big as a house."

"Oh shut up!" Kurt groaned, jabbing Blaine in the side. Despite the baby having been born in July, Blaine still felt like his body hadn't bounced back as well as it should have, even though he dropped all of his baby weight and looked just fine (_handsome, beautiful, stunning, gorgeous_) in Kurt's eyes. Time and time again, the younger man would poke and prod at himself in the mirror and he even made Kurt turn the lights off whenever they made love, which annoyed Kurt to no end because he loved Blaine's body no matter what, but it was still a sore topic to the new father. Sighing helplessly because he knew this wasn't a fight he was going to win, Kurt continued on, "You are perfect, honey. You _just_ had a baby and your body is fine."

"I still have stretch marks."

"Really? Where? Because I've never seen them."

"They're everywhere. I just don't let you look long enough."

"Well, I think I've looked plenty and I've never seen these marks of which you speak, so you must be imagining them. Plus, you look amazing. You had a baby _four months ago_ and you had to take over a month off of doing anything because of your stitches. You look amazing. You're perfect and I just wish you could see that."

Blaine sighed, obviously getting lost in his thoughts, so Kurt gently climbed on top of him, sighing as he leaned down to capture his husband's lips with his own. If he couldn't get his husband to see how sexy he was, Kurt would just have to _make_ him see it, make him _feel_ it. So he let his body show it, slowly rolling his hips forward to prove to Blaine that no matter what, Kurt Hummel still thought his husband was the sexiest man on the Earth.

"Blaine?" Kurt moaned as he pulled away. He didn't mean to cut their making out short, but in the midst of rutting against Blaine's thigh, his mind slipped elsewhere and all of a sudden, he needed to talk about it.

"Yeah?"

"Can you believe that this time last year... you were _pregnant_? I mean, barely pregnant, but you still were."

"I.. I know. It's weird, isn't it? I just keep on thinking about the holiday season last year and how hectic everything was-"

"I'm sorry-"

"Please... honey, don't. We're past that now and I know you're sorry. You've told me time and time again and I forgave you ages ago. We're in a better place now, right?"

"Yes."

"So enough apologizing. We've moved on and we're better now. We're better people, we're a better couple, and that's all that matters anymore."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

Kurt smiled, leaning back down to kiss Blaine again, his hands running up and down his husband's sides before they brushed across Blaine's bare chest. Blaine arched up into his touch, panting when Kurt began trailing kisses down his jawline and to his neck.

"Kurt-"

"I've got you," the older man whispered, licking along Blaine's collarbone. He snaked a hand down in between their bodies and went to wrap his fingers around Blaine's hardened length when a cry pierced the air. Below him, Blaine stilled for a moment before he snorted, his laughter mixing in with the cries from down the hall. Kurt paused, shocked by the mood change, but then he too began laughing, carelessly falling forward onto Blaine's chest as the sound of their son's wailing traveled down the hall.

"We just got cockblocked by our baby and he's not even here!" Blaine choked out, gasping for breath in between his laughter and Kurt snorted, shoving Blaine's shoulder.

"You're the one who started laughing! We could've kept going!"

"I'm _sorry_! I couldn't help it. It's like he _knows_ or something! He's... He's gonna do this for the rest of our lives, you know that right?"

Kurt smirked and sat up, still straddling Blaine's legs as he stared down at his husband's grinning face. Even in the moonlight, he could see the love Blaine had for him written all over his face, especially in his striking eyes; and even now, even after all of those long years and rough patches and everything, that love, that _emotion_ made Kurt feel like he was on top of the world. Blinking back the onslaught of tears that overcame him, he smiled back, brushing his fingers along Blaine's jawline, and watched as the love of his life (_the father of his child, his everything_) peered up at him.

There he was: Kurt Anderson-Hummel, a man in his thirties, a husband, a _father_, who had overcame so much in his life. He dealt with adversity, with heartbreak, with overwhelming fear, and now he was _living_ and _loving_ so much more than he was before. He was so in love with everything now. He loved his family, he loved his husband, and he loved his son and after such a long hard year, after almost losing two of the most important people in his life, he knew that_ this_, this moment, this time in his life was everything to him.

Heart beating hard in his chest, Kurt looked down at his husband and pressed another kiss to Blaine's lips. As he pulled away, he noted the sound of his dad singing to Liam somewhere down the hall and he smiled wider, whispering the answer to Blaine's question into the night air.

"Of course he will and I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it, folks. We're all done here! I hope the ending was good enough for you all. I tried to get it to come out the way I wanted, but it fought with me long and hard and I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but what matters most to me is if you all liked it. Anyway, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me throughout this entire story. Your comments and messages really kept me going and allowed me to finish this and I'm so grateful to ALL of you for everything you've done for me. I am so pleased to have been able to share this with you all and while I know this story had its moments, it really is like a child to me and I was scared to let it out there in the world for you all to read, but you've been amazing with it and to me and I'm severely thankful. I do hope to see you all around when I get around to posting my next MPREG (which should be soon, I hope) and while I don't know if I'll do a sequel to this or not (or maybe some drabbles in this series or what not), I hope you'll read those as well. Thanks again and please review one last time to let me know what you thought! Until next time!**


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